Evaluation and Management of Cleft Lip and Palate

David J. Zajac, PhD, CCC-SLP, FASHA, is Professor in the Craniofacial Center, Department of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Adams School of Dentistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Zajac completed his master's degree and doctoral degree in communicative disorders at the University of Pittsburgh. He has more than 30 years of experience in the assessment and treatment of children and adults with craniofacial disorders. His research interests include the acoustics and aerodynamics of speech production by individuals with and without cleft palate. His research has been consistently funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1993. Dr. Zajac has presented numerous research papers, written eight book chapters, and authored or coauthored more than 60 research articles. He is a current section editor for FACE and a past associate editor for the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Dr. Zajac is a co-author of the publication Cleft Palate Speech and Resonance: An Audio and Video Resource.

Linda D. Vallino-Napoli, PhD, CCC-SLP/A, FASHA is head of the Craniofacial Outcomes Research Laboratory in the Center for Pediatrics Auditory and Speech Sciences and Senior Research Scientist at Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware where she also serves on the Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Team. She is Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Sidney Kimmel Medical College-Jefferson Medical University and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Delaware. Dr. Vallino completed her doctoral degree at the University of Pittsburgh and received a master's degree in Clinical Evaluative Sciences from Dartmouth College. As a clinician and clinical speech scientist, Dr. Vallino has 30 years of experience specializing in children and young adults with cleft palate-craniofacial anomalies. She has published papers, written book chapters, made presentations at scientific meetings in the area of cleft and craniofacial anomalies. Her research interests include speech sound disorders and automated speech recognition technology to assess speech intelligibility in children with cleft palate, and transition of care in young adults with cleft and craniofacial anomalies palate. Dr. Vallino holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence in both Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and is an ASHA Fellow.