Marie Tolarová
Professor Marie M. Tolarova, MD, PhD, Dr. Sc, is a physician, Board-certified in Pediatrics and Medical Genetics. She received her M.D. from the Charles University School of Medicine in Prague, Czech Republic, at age 23. Dr. Tolarova completed her Ph.D. and her Dr.Sc. at the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague. She started her professional medical career in Prague, at the Department of Plastic Surgery, 3rd School of Medicine, Charles University, focusing on patients with cleft and craniofacial anomalies. Later, initiated and codirected a multidisciplinary cleft and craniofacial team.
She gained knowledge of the multidisciplinary treatment and case management of patients with cleft lip and palate and craniofacial anomalies through close collaboration with plastic surgeons, orthodontists, and speech pathologists.
Since the beginning of her professional career, she has been interested in understanding the causes of cleft lip and palate and, especially, in the prevention of clefts and other congenital anomalies. In the Laboratory of Plastic Surgery, the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, and the Department of Plastic Surgery, she established a population-based registry of orofacial clefts in the Czech Republic containing detailed data on over 10,000 patients - one of the largest collections of data on individuals with clefts to date. Over half of these patients underwent complete genetic evaluations, and for most, she performed physical examinations, treatment planning, and case management. Data from these patients led to her clinical and epidemiological research, which has been featured in many publications and presentations on the etiology of clefts and cleft prevention. The first results of her cleft prevention study were published in 1982 in The Lancet and clearly showed a significant decrease in the recurrence of nonsyndromic orofacial clefts after periconceptional supplementation with high-dose Folic Acid and multivitamins.
After 25 years, in 1991, Dr. Tolarova relocated to the United States and joined the Center for Craniofacial Anomalies at the UCSF School of Dentistry in San Francisco, held an appointment as a professor, and founded and directed the Program for Prevention of Cleft Lip and Palate/Craniofacial Anomalies at the UCSF School of Dentistry. She also worked for the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation/California Birth Defects Monitoring Program and researched, analyzed, and published data on the largest population-based sample of orofacial clefts in the USA - over 4,000 cases from California.
Since July 1999, she has been with the University of the Pacific as a tenured Professor of Orthodontics and Executive Director of Craniofacial Team and Cleft Prevention Program. With the support of Miroslav Tolar, MD, PhD, she established a strong molecular genetics research program to identify the causes of orofacial clefts across diverse populations worldwide and has continued her efforts to develop and implement an efficient approach to preventing nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate anomalies.
Dr. Tolarova has over 500 scientific publications and presentations, has been a keynote and featured speaker at numerous international and national scientific meetings, has held over 20 visiting professorships worldwide, and holds memberships in 15 professional organizations. Dr. Tolarova was elected in June 2021 as President of the International Cleft Lip and Palate Foundation (ICPF) – a nongovernmental organization established in 1997 that brings together over 8,000 members worldwide, representing all specialties involved in the treatment, research, and care of individuals affected by cleft lip and palate. In 2016, Dr. Tolarova co-founded and leads Cleft Prevention International Foundation, Inc., and recently helped to establish the Indo-Pacific Cleft Prevention Program “ANAMAYA” in Chennai, India. She carried out genetic research and prevention projects for Rotaplast Intl.,
Inc., in South America, India, Asia, and Africa. She participated as a pediatrician and medical geneticist in 50 Rotaplast medical missions worldwide.
She has 60 years of clinical experience with cleft and craniofacial patients and 50 years of teaching experience of medical, dental, and graduate students at the Charles University School of Medicine in Prague, Czech Republic, at the University of California School of Dentistry in San Francisco, and, at present, over 25 years at the University of the Pacific, Arthur Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco. She also lectures and delivers courses internationally. At the Pacific, Dr. Tolarova has been serving as a mentor to 45 residents pursuing their MSD degree, mentoring dozens of scholars, young faculty, and numerous students whose research projects have been presented at the University of the Pacific, nationally, and internationally.
Dr. Tolarova received numerous awards and recognitions. At the international congress CLEFT2019 in Nagoya, Japan, she was awarded the highest recognition – the International Humanitarian Award - for her lifetime achievements in clinical, research, and prevention activities in the field of cleft lip and palate and craniofacial anomalies.
