Cato T. Laurencin

Chief Executive Officer, The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering

University Professor

Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery

UConn Health

---

Education

• Ph.D., MIT, 1987
• M.D., Harvard Medical School, 1987

Research Focus

• Tissue Engineering
• Musculoskeletal Regeneration
• Nanotechnology
• Polymeric Materials Science
• Bioreactor Technology
• Drug Delivery Systems
• Stem Cell Technologies

Awards

• Recipient, The American Association for the Advancement of Science Philip Hauge Abelson Prize ‘for signal contributions to science in the United States’, 2019
• Lee Hsun Lecture Award, Shenyang University, Shenyang, China, 2018
• Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa, Mt. Sinai University School of Medicine, 2018
• Distinguished Engineering Educator Award for 2017 (From the Engineer’s Council)
• Inducted into the Indian National Academy of Sciences, 2017
• National Medal of Technology and Innovation, 2016
• Fellow of the Indian Academy of Engineering, 2016
• Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 2016
• Fellow (Foreign) Indian National Academy of Sciences, 2015
• Pioneer of Diversity Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 2015
• Living Legend Award, National Medical Association, 2015
• Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. Travelling Fellow Award established by the Society for Biomaterials, 2015
• Lifetime Achievement Award, West Indian Foundation, 2015
• NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, 2014
• Elected Fellow of the American Chemical Society, 2014
• Elected Fellow of the Materials Research Society, 2014
• Torch of Liberty Award, Anti-Defamation League, 2014
• Connecticut Cure, Academic Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 2014
• American Association for the Advancement of Science Mentor Award, 2013
• Technology Innovation and Development Award of the Society for Biomaterials, 2013
• Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award for Mentoring, 2012
• American Association for the Advancement of Science Mentor Award, 2012
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012
• Elected, African Academy of Sciences, 2011
• Elected Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society, 2010
• Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, 2010
• Named one of the 100 engineers of the Modern Era by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers at its Centennial Celebration, 2009
• Pierre Galletti Award (highest honor) from the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, 2009
• Named 50 Greatest Achievements in Science “SciAm 50” by Scientific American Magazine, 2007
• Clemson Award for Contribution to Literature, 2006
• Elected to the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, 2004
• William Grimes Award for Excellence in Chemical Engineering (American Institute of Chem. Engineers), 2002
• Profiled by IEEE in “Scientists of the Millennium” Series, 1999
• Elected International Fellow in Biomaterial Science and Engineering, 1999
• Distinguished Alumni Award, Princeton University, Association of Black Princeton Alumni (ABPP), 1998
• Presidential Faculty Fellow Award, The National Science Foundation, 1995

Publications

The COVID-19 Vaccine and the Black Community: Addressing the Justified Questions.
Laurencin, Cato T; Valantine, Hannah; Yancy, Clyde; Jones, Camara Phyllis; Bright, Cedric Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2021 Aug;8(4):809-820

Selective Unique Signs of Meniscus Tears as Visualized by Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
Esdaille, Caldon Jayson; Marrero, Daniel; Laurencin, Cato T Clinical journal of sport medicine : official journal of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine 2021 Jul;

Addressing Justified Vaccine Hesitancy in the Black Community.
Laurencin, Cato T Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2021 Jun;8(3):543-546

Excess Deaths Among Blacks and Latinx Compared to Whites During Covid-19.
Laurencin, Cato T; Wu, Z Helen; McClinton, Aneesah; Grady, James J; Walker, Joanne M Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2021 Jun;8(3):783-789

Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine Overdose Fatalities are Shifting to the Black Community: An Analysis of the State of Connecticut.
Wu, Z Helen; Yong, Qiao; Walker, Joanne M; Grady, James J; Laurencin, Cato T Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2021 May;

Kinetic degradation and biocompatibility evaluation of polycaprolactone-based biologics delivery matrices for regenerative engineering of the rotator cuff.
Prabhath, Anupama; Vernekar, Varadraj N; Vasu, Vignesh; Badon, Mary; Avochinou, Jean-Emmanuel; Asandei, Alexandru D; Kumbar, Sangamesh G; Weber, Eckhard; Laurencin, Cato T Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A 2021 May;

Regenerative engineering: a review of recent advances and future directions.
Esdaille, Caldon J; Washington, Kenyatta S; Laurencin, Cato T Regenerative medicine 2021 May;16(5):495-512

Inductive Materials for Regenerative Engineering.
Hosseini, F S; Nair, L S; Laurencin, C T Journal of dental research 2021 Apr;220345211010436

In Vivo Evaluation of the Regenerative Capability of Glycylglycine Ethyl Ester-Substituted Polyphosphazene and Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) Blends: A Rabbit Critical-Sized Bone Defect Model.
Ogueri, Kenneth S; Ogueri, Kennedy S; McClinton, Aneesah; Kan, Ho-Man; Ude, Chinedu C; Barajaa, Mohammed A; Allcock, Harry R; Laurencin, Cato T ACS biomaterials science & engineering 2021 Apr;7(4):1564-1572

Control of mesenchymal cell fate via application of FGF-8b in vitro.
Otsuka, Takayoshi; Mengsteab, Paulos Y; Laurencin, Cato T Stem cell research 2021 Mar;51102155

The Treatment of Muscle Atrophy after Rotator Cuff Tears Using Electroconductive Nanofibrous Matrices.
Tang, Xiaoyan; Shemshaki, Nikoo Saveh; Vernekar, Varadraj N; Prabhath, Anupama; Kuyinu, Emmanuel; Kan, Ho-Man; Barajaa, Mohammed; Khan, Yusuf; Laurencin, Cato T Regenerative engineering and translational medicine 2021 Mar;

COVID Highlights Another Crisis: Lack of Black Physicians and Scientists.
Daley, George Q; Barabino, Gilda A; Ajijola, Olujimi A; Bright, Cedric M; Rice, Valerie Montgomery; Laurencin, Cato T Med (New York, N.Y.) 2021 Jan;2(1):2-3

Fabrication and characterization of mechanically competent 3D printed polycaprolactone-reduced graphene oxide scaffolds.
Seyedsalehi, Amir; Daneshmandi, Leila; Barajaa, Mohammed; Riordan, John; Laurencin, Cato T Scientific reports 2020 Dec;10(1):22210

Bioinspired Scaffold Designs for Regenerating Musculoskeletal Tissue Interfaces.
Barajaa, Mohammed A; Nair, Lakshmi S; Laurencin, Cato T Regenerative engineering and translational medicine 2020 Dec;6(4):451-483

Black Lives Matter in Science Engineering and Medicine : Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.: Winner of the 2020 Herbert W. Nickens Award of the Association of American Medical Colleges, Acceptance Remarks.
Laurencin, Cato T Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2020 Dec;7(6):1021-1034

Emergence of the Stem Cell Secretome in Regenerative Engineering.
Daneshmandi, Leila; Shah, Shiv; Jafari, Tahereh; Bhattacharjee, Maumita; Momah, Deandra; Saveh-Shemshaki, Nikoo; Lo, Kevin W-H; Laurencin, Cato T Trends in biotechnology 2020 Dec;38(12):1373-1384

Mechanically superior matrices promote osteointegration and regeneration of anterior cruciate ligament tissue in rabbits.
Mengsteab, Paulos Y; Otsuka, Takayoshi; McClinton, Aneesah; Shemshaki, Nikoo Saveh; Shah, Shiv; Kan, Ho-Man; Obopilwe, Elifho; Vella, Anthony T; Nair, Lakshmi S; Laurencin, Cato T Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2020 Nov;117(46):28655-28666

Preparation and characterization of amnion hydrogel and its synergistic effect with adipose derived stem cells towards IL1β activated chondrocytes.
Bhattacharjee, Maumita; Ivirico, Jorge L Escobar; Kan, Ho-Man; Bordett, Rosalie; Pandey, Rishikesh; Otsuka, Takayoshi; Nair, Lakshmi S; Laurencin, Cato T Scientific reports 2020 Oct;10(1):18751

Graphene-Based Biomaterials for Bone Regenerative Engineering: A Comprehensive Review of the Field and Considerations Regarding Biocompatibility and Biodegradation.
Daneshmandi, Leila; Barajaa, Mohammed; Tahmasbi Rad, Armin; Sydlik, Stefanie A; Laurencin, Cato T Advanced healthcare materials 2020 Oct;e2001414

Just in TIME: Trauma-Informed Medical Education.
McClinton, Aneesah; Laurencin, Cato T Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2020 Oct;

Spatial alignment of 3D printed scaffolds modulates genotypic expression in pre-osteoblasts.
Nagiah, Naveen; Bhattacharjee, Maumita; Murdock, Christopher J; Kan, Ho-Man; Barajaa, Mohammed; Laurencin, Cato T Materials letters 2020 Oct;276

Health Café Series: a Potential Platform to Reduce Health Disparities.
Lo, Wai Hong Kevin; Laurencin, Cato T Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2020 Aug;7(4):592-594

We Are the First to Applaud You Regarding Your Efforts in COVID-19: A Message from the African Diaspora to Our Brothers and Sisters of Africa.
Laurencin, Cato T; McClinton, Aneesah Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2020 Aug;7(4):587-589

A Pandemic on a Pandemic: Racism and COVID-19 in Blacks.
Laurencin, Cato T; Walker, Joanne M Cell systems 2020 Jul;11(1):9-10

Nanofiber Technology for Regenerative Engineering.
Ogueri, Kenneth S; Laurencin, Cato T ACS nano 2020 Jul;

Robust phenotypic maintenance of limb cells during heterogeneous culture in a physiologically relevant polymeric-based constructed graft system.
Barajaa, Mohammed A; Nair, Lakshmi S; Laurencin, Cato T Scientific reports 2020 Jul;10(1):11739

Unconscious Bias, Racism, and Trauma-Informed Policing: an Address and Message to the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project Advisory Board.
Laurencin, Cato T Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2020 Jun;

The COVID-19 Pandemic: a Call to Action to Identify and Address Racial and Ethnic Disparities.
Laurencin, Cato T; McClinton, Aneesah Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2020 Apr;

Racial Profiling Is a Public Health and Health Disparities Issue.
Laurencin, Cato T; Walker, Joanne M Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2020 Apr;

Nail matrix regenerative engineering: in vitro evaluation of poly(lactide-co-glycolide)/gelatin fibrous substrates.
Montgomery, Aundrya B; McClinton, Aneesah; Nair, Lakshmi; Laurencin, Cato T Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A 2020 Jan;

Development of Tripolymeric Triaxial Electrospun Fibrous Matrices for Dual Drug Delivery Applications.
Nagiah, Naveen; Murdock, Christopher J; Bhattacharjee, Maumita; Nair, Lakshmi; Laurencin, Cato T Scientific reports 2020 Jan;10(1):609

Regenerative engineered vascularized bone mediated by calcium peroxide.
Daneshmandi, Leila; Laurencin, Cato T Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A 2020 Jan;

Evaluation of a bioengineered ACL matrix’s osteointegration with BMP-2 supplementation.
Mengsteab, Paulos Y; Conroy, Patrick; Badon, Mary; Otsuka, Takayoshi; Kan, Ho-Man; Vella, Anthony T; Nair, Lakshmi S; Laurencin, Cato T PloS one 2020 Jan;15(1):e0227181

Progress in 3D bioprinting technology for tissue/organ regenerative engineering.
Matai, Ishita; Kaur, Gurvinder; Seyedsalehi, Amir; McClinton, Aneesah; Laurencin, Cato T Biomaterials 2020 Jan;226119536