Sir Cato T. Laurencin

University Professor, Professor of Africana Studies, Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Africana Studies, School of Engineering, UConn Health

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• Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1987
• M.D., (Magna Cum Laude) Harvard Medical School, 1987
• B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering: Princeton University, 1980
• Program in African-African American Studies Certificate: Princeton University, 1980

Disciplines– Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, Black Racial Justice and Equity, Racial Profiling Recognition and Elimination Regenerative Engineering, Nanotechnology, Stem Cell Science, Drug Delivery Technology, Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering, Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery including Surgery of the Shoulder and Knee

Research Specialties – Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, Black Racial Justice and Equity, Racial Profiling Recognition and Elimination Regenerative Engineering, Nanotechnology, Stem Cell Science, Drug Delivery Technology, Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering, Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery including Surgery of the Shoulder and Knee

Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. is the Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Laurencin is a University Professor at UCONN. He is the 8th to be designated in UCONN’s over 130 year history.

Dr. Laurencin is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and an elected member of the American Surgical Association membership. A practicing shoulder and knee surgeon, he has been elected to America’s Top Doctors continuously for the past 11 years. He is the winner of the Nicolas Andry Award, the highest honor of the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons.

Dr. Laurencin is active in mentoring, especially underrepresented minority students. He received the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mentor Award, the Beckman Award for Mentoring, and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring in ceremonies at the White House. The Society for Biomaterials established The Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. Travel Fellowship in his honor, awarded to underrepresented minority students pursuing research. Dr. Laurencin is also active in addressing Health Disparities. Dr. Laurencin completed the Program in African-American Studies at Princeton University. He is a core faculty member of the Africana Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut, and is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, published by Springer Nature. He co-Founded the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute, dedicated to addressing Health Disparities, and served as its Founding Chair. The W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute and the National Medical Association established the Cato T. Laurencin Lifetime Research Achievement Award, given during the opening ceremonies of the National Medical Association Meeting. He is a recipient of the Herbert W. Nickens Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges recognizing his work advancing social justice and equity. 

He was named one of the 100 Engineers of the Modern Era by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, the Biomedical Engineering Society, the Materials Research Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. He has been awarded the Percy Julian Medal by the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChe). Dr. Laurencin is a member of the editorial boards of 25 journals, and Editor-in-Chief of Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine.

Dr. Laurencin’s research expertise is in Biomaterials, Nanotechnology, Drug Delivery, Stem Cell Science and a new field he has pioneered, Regenerative Engineering. He has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the past 25 years. The recipient of two Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Awards from NSF, he received the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award for his transformative work in Regenerative Engineering.

Dr. Laurencin has been honored by the White House on three occasions. He received the Presidential Faculty Fellow Award from President Bill Clinton for his work bridging engineering and medicine. He received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring from President Barack Obama. More recently, he received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in ceremonies at the White House.

Dr. Laurencin has two awards named in his honor: The Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. Travel Fellowship Award given by the Society for Biomaterials, and The Cato T. Laurencin Lifetime Research Achievement Award given by the W. Montague Cobb/National Medical Association Health Institute and the NMA.

Dr. Laurencin is an elected member of both the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Engineering. Internationally, he is an elected Fellow (Associate) of the African Academy of Sciences, an elected Fellow (Foreign) of the India National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences. Dr. Laurencin is an Academician and Member (Foreign) of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Dr. Laurencin earned his B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was named a Hugh Hampton Young Fellow. Dr. Laurencin earned his M.D., Magna Cum Laude, from the Harvard Medical School.

Additional titles held by Dr. Laurencin

• University Chief Executive Officer, The Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering Director
• The Raymond an Beverly Sackler Center for Biomedical, Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences State Member
• Connecticut State Racial Profiling Prohibition Project Member
• Connecticut State Boxing Commission National Editor-in-Chief
• Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine (published by Springer Nature) Editor-in-Chief
• The Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (published by Springer Nature) Chair
• National Academies Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine

Sir Cato T. Laurencin was bestowed Knight Commander of the Order of St. Lucia, under the auspices of King Charles III of England by the General Governor of Lucia for his exceptional and outstanding service of national importance to Saint Lucia.