Project Grant R21DE035749

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research awarded $495,467 to Seattle Children's Hospital on August 21, 2026, under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) to develop a visual communication tool addressing craniofacial microsomia patient education and clinician communication.

Craniofacial microsomia is the third most common congenital craniofacial condition, affecting approximately 1 in 3,000 to 5,600 births and presenting with variable underdevelopment of facial structures, primarily the jaw and ear(s), with potential impacts on hearing, speech, respiration, and appearance. The project addresses a documented "linguistic problem of morphology"—the inherent difficulty in precisely describing complex anatomical variations using language alone—by creating semantically-augmented anatomical graphics to bridge clinical terminology and patient understanding.

The recipient, Seattle Children's Research Institute (doing business as Seattle Children's Hospital), will execute a stakeholder-centered co-design approach across three phases: stakeholder-specific needs assessment through in-depth interviews with caregivers and clinicians; co-design workshops to create context scenarios and paper prototypes; and integrated prototype development and refinement through focus groups with combined stakeholders. The work is performed in Seattle, Washington, with a period of performance from August 21, 2026, through August 20, 2028. The assistance type is a Project Grant, which provides support for discrete, circumscribed research projects in the institute's priority areas.