Mark Urata, MD, DDS

Mark M. Urata, MD, DDS, is board certified in both oral and maxillofacial surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery making him uniquely qualified to lead the Division of Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Dr. Urata's appointment became effective on November 1, 2007. He had been associated with Children's Hospital Los Angeles as director of Craniofacial Surgery and medical director in the Division of Plastic Surgery. He is currently director of Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and co-director of the Cleft Team at Shriner's Hospital in Los Angeles.

Certified by both the American Board of Plastic Surgery (2005-present) and the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (2007-present), he specializes in the most complex craniofacial anomalies, including craniosynostosis, syndromic reconstruction, and jaw deformities. An accomplished author and speaker, he is an associate professor of plastic surgery in the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) and a research assistant professor in the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology of the USC School of Dentistry.

Dr. Urata trained for 18 years following his undergraduate education. He received his dental degree from the USC School of Dentistry and his medical degree from the USC Keck School of Medicine. He completed a residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery before matriculating to general surgery and then completing a residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery at USC. He then moved across town where he completed a fellowship in craniofacial surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Recently, Dr. Urata received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the molecular mechanisms of cleft palate. He also received further NIH funding through a large multi-center study aimed at defining possible facial patterns in autism.

Dr. Urata is the principal investigator of the International Craniofacial Children's Fund (ICCF), an independently funded $5 million project at Children's Hospital Los Angeles to enable children with severe craniofacial abnormalities from medically underserved countries to benefit from care they might otherwise be unable to receive. He is co-principal investigator of both the Teledentistry/Telecraniofacial Program and the Tulare County eHealth Project, designed to use state-of-the-art technology to deliver services to underserved populations.