Cato T. Laurencin

Cato T. Laurencin
CEO, Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, Director, Institute for Regenerative Engineering
University of Connecticut, USA

Biography

Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering and an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Laurencin is a University Professor at the University of Connecticut (the 7th in the institution’s history). He is the Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Professor of Chemical, and Biomolecular Engineering, and Professor of Materials Engineering at the school. Dr. Laurencin is the Founder and Director of both the Institute for Regenerative Engineering and the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biomedical, Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences at the University of Connecticut. In addition, he serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Connecticut.
Dr. Laurencin earned his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University and his medical degree magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School. During medical school, he also earned his Ph.D. in biochemical engineering/biotechnology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was a Hugh Hampton Young Fellow.
Dr. Laurencin has been named to America’s Top Doctors and America’s Top Surgeons, and is a Fellow of the American Surgical Association, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He is the recipient of the Nicolas Andry Award from the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons.
Dr. Laurencin’s research focuses on regenerative engineering, biomaterials, nanotechnology, drug delivery and stem cell science. Dr. Laurencin is an International Fellow in Biomaterials Science and Engineering, a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society and a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. His work on engineering tissues was honored by Scientific American Magazine as one of the 50 greatest achievements in science in 2007. Dr. Laurencin was named the 2009 winner of the Pierre Galletti Award, medical and biological engineering’s highest honor and was named one of the 100 Engineers of the Modern Era by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers at its Centennial celebration. In 2012, his work was highlighted by National Geographic Magazine in its “100 Discoveries That Have Changed Our World” edition.
Dr. Laurencin’s work in mentoring students is well known. He received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in ceremonies at the White House. In 2012, Dr. Laurencin received the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award for mentoring. He recently received the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Mentor Award.
Dr. Laurencin is active nationally in science leadership. Formerly Chair of the College of Fellows for the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, he has served on the National Science Advisory Board for the FDA, and the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Advisory Committee (ADCOM). He has served as Chair of the Engineering Section for the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and currently is a member of the Peer Review (admissions) Committee for Bioengineering for the National Academy of Engineering. At NIH, he has served as a member of the National Advisory Council for Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skins Diseases. Currently he is a member of the National Advisory Council for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at N.I.H., and is a member of the Advisory Committee to the Director of the National Institutes of Health.
Internationally, Dr. Laurencin has worked in collaboration with Universities throughout the world. He is an Honorary Professor of Engineering at Sichuan University in China, and is an elected member of the Third World Academy of Sciences, and the African Academy of Sciences.