Serena Kassam is originally from Vancouver, BC. She completed her B.A/D.M.D at Tufts University in Boston, MA and Pediatric Dental Residency through Lutheran Medical Center at St Josephs Hospital, In Providence, RI. She then completed a research fellowship at New York University Langone Medical Center, Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, in Craniofacial Pediatric Dentistry and Nasoalveolar Molding (NAM).
Serena Kassam is currently a pediatric dentist with BC Children’s Hospital, associate clinical professor at UBC, adjunct associate clinical professor, and former pre-doctorate director at New York University College of Dentistry, Dept of Pediatric Dentistry. She is a volunteer, Board member, and Presurgical/Dental Director with Global Smile Foundation. In 2021, Serena was awarded the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in Health and Wellness.
She currently lives in West Vancouver, Canada.
Read on to find out more about Serena, her background and experiences, what lead her to the field of global surgical care, the MGSC, and more!
What has inspired you to study and work in the field of global surgery?
I have been volunteering with Global Smile Foundation (GSF), a registered non- profit dedicated to improving the lives of patients with cleft lip and palate in developing countries, for the past 10 years. GSF focuses on providing comprehensive cleft care, long term follow up, training of local healthcare providers and building sustainability. The more time I have spent in global cleft care, the more work and collaboration I realize is needed. It is a privilege and passion to learn more ways how to help, one that keeps going!
What are some of your hobbies & interests? What do you love to do in your spare time?
Travelling, learning about new cultures and countries, music and keeping with my puppy Romeo.
What advice would you give to prospective students?
Follow your passion, carve your own path and don’t give up. This was the only global surgical care program open to all specialties, across all fields. It took me many closed doors, feeling like a square peg in a round hole, around the world, before I found out this program existed and, was here all along. It is exciting to meet with other like minded people who are passionate about global health and global surgical care, from all different aspects and perspectives. I can’t wait to see where the path leads.
Can you tell us more about your work helping children born with cleft in underserved areas with Global Smile Foundation (GSF)?
GSF has been providing care around the world, with a large focus in Latin America. Their longest standing site is in Guayaquil, Ecuador with 35 years of follow up. The focus is interdisciplinary cleft care, sustainability and training initiatives for on-site cleft care providers. In 2012, GSF added pre-surgical NasoAlveolar Molding (NAM) therapy for their patients in Guayaquil, Ecuador. We co-founded the Global Fellowship in Craniofacial Pediatric Dentistry and established a clinic in Ecuador. Since 2012, A total of 238 patients have been treated with pre-surgical therapy, with yearly follow up, along with providing Advanced Nasoalveolar Molding (NAM) training to 13 dental providers from around the world. In addition, there is now a comprehensive cleft center that runs year round.
Is there any work/document/article that you are currently working on that you’d like to promote? Our community would love to find out what our students are currently working on. How can our community learn more about you? (Website, Linkedin, Youtube, etc)
I am very honoured to have contributed and co-authored four chapters in two upcoming textbooks: “Interdisciplinary Cleft Care: Global Perspectives” ( Plural Publishing) and “Cleft and Craniofacial Orthodontics” (Wiley Publishing), on the importance of oral health and pediatric dentistry, a pre-surgical chapter on NasoAlveolar Molding (NAM) and a contributor to the Psychosocial considerations. I am very excited to have been part of a fantastic collaborative group, the World Cleft Coalition (WCC), as a founding member, that started in 2017. The WCC is an alliance of international NGOs that work in the area of long term cleft lip and palate delivery: American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association, European Cleft Organization, Global Smile Foundation, Operation Smile, Smile Train, and Transforming Faces, partnering to encourage international collaboration and creating guidelines for safe and comprehensive cleft care globally. I am also very proud of the expansion GSF continues to make, and has recently added on with educational comprehensive workshops to help with interdisciplinary cleft care and education, including simulation and didactic sessions globally. https://gsmile.org/; https://www.worldcleftcoalition.org/; https://cleftworkshop.org/
Publications:
Kassam SN, Perry JL, Ayala R, Stieber E, Davies G, Hudson N, Hamdan US. World Cleft Coalition International Treatment Program Standards. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2020 Oct;57(10):1171-1181. doi: 10.1177/1055665620928779. Epub 2020 Jun 23. PMID: 32573279.
Chahine EM, Kantar RS, Kassam SN, et al. Sustainable Cleft Care: A Comprehensive Model Based on the Global Smile Foundation Experience. The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. 2021;58(5):647-652. doi:10.1177/1055665620957531
Kantar RS, Breugem CC, Keith K, et al. Simulation-Based Comprehensive Cleft Care Workshops: A Reproducible Model for Sustainable Education. The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. 2020;57(10):1238-1246. doi:10.1177/1055665620944781