Cato T. Laurencin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cato Thomas Laurencin
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| Born | January 15, 1959 United States
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| Alma mater | Princeton University (BSE) Harvard University (MD) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD) |
| Awards | National Academy of Sciences (2021) National Academy of Engineering (2021) Royal Academy of Engineering (2022) National Academy of Inventors National Academy of Medicine (2021) Academician, Chinese Academy of Engineering (2016) National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2021) Spingarn Medal (2021) Hoover Medal (2021) Priestley Medal (2023) The Cato T. Laurencin Scholars Award (2020) Indian Academy of Sciences Cato T. Laurencin Founder's Award (2023) International Fellow, UK Royal Academy of Engineering (2022) Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences (2022) Fellow, Academia Europaea (2022) American Orthopaedic Association Distinguished Contribution to Orthopaedic Surgery Award(2022) Named to Connecticut's Top Doctors (2022) American Orthopaedic Association Hall of Fame(2022) Fellow, European Academy of Sciences and Techniques of Senegal, Marshall Urist Award, Orthopaedic Research Society(2022) Robert A. Pritzker Distinguished Lectureship Award, Biomedical Engineering Society(2022) Diversity Award, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (2022) The Order of St. Lucia (St. Lucia Honor of Medal - Gold)(2022) Named to Top Most Influential Black Scholars in last 30 years (engineering), Academic Influence(2022) Fellow, National Academy of Sciences (2022) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Surgeon, professor, engineer, scientist |
| Institutions | University of Connecticut, University of Virginia |
| Notable students | Helen H. Lu |
Cato T. Laurencin, born on January 15, 1959, is an amazing American scientist. He is an engineer, doctor, and inventor. He is also a special professor at the University of Connecticut.
Today, he leads The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering. Many people see him as the person who started the field of Regenerative Engineering. This is a new area of science that helps the body heal itself. He is also the main editor for a science magazine called Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine.
Dr. Laurencin is a member of several important groups. These include the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences. He is the first surgeon ever to be chosen for all four of these groups. He also received the highest awards from the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine.
He won the Philip Hague Abelson Prize for his work in Regenerative Engineering. This is the highest honor from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It is given for big contributions to science in the United States.
In 2021, Dr. Laurencin received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. This is America's highest award for new technology. President Barack Obama gave him this award at the White House.
Contents
About Cato T. Laurencin
Cato T. Laurencin grew up in North Philadelphia. He went to Central High School. Later, he studied chemical engineering at Princeton University. He earned a special degree in medicine from Harvard Medical School. He also got his Ph.D. in biochemical engineering from MIT. He and his wife have three children.
How He Helps Engineering and Medicine
Dr. Laurencin is a world leader in many science areas. These include biomaterials, nanotechnology, and stem cell science. He is especially known for creating a new field called regenerative engineering. This field focuses on helping the body repair or replace damaged tissues and organs.
His work has greatly changed how we treat injuries and diseases. He helped start using tiny particles called nanofibers to regrow bones and muscles. He also created new ways to use special plastics and ceramics for bone repair. Some of his ideas are now used in products that help people heal.
Dr. Laurencin has also worked on repairing soft tissues. He invented the Laurencin-Cooper ligament (LC ligament). This helps regrow the ACL, a key ligament in the knee. He also designed grafts to fix shoulder injuries. In 2012, National Geographic magazine called the LC Ligament one of the "100 Scientific Discoveries that Changed the World." He has written over 500 scientific papers and holds many patents.
Awards and Special Honors
Dr. Laurencin has received many important awards for his work. He won the National Institutes of Health NIH Director's Pioneer Grant Award. He also received the National Science Foundation NSF Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Grant Award. These are the highest awards from these groups for new and important research.
He is a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He is also a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences and the World Academy of Sciences. In 2021, he became a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Here are some of his other awards:
- 2024 – Augustus A. White III Founders Award
- 2023 – Inventor of the Year award from the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation
- 2022 – International Fellow, UK Royal Academy of Engineering
- 2022 – Fellow, Academia Europaea
- 2022 – Named one of Connecticut's Top Doctors
- 2022 – Received the Order of St. Lucia (St. Lucia Medal of Honor - Gold)
- 2021 – Received the Hoover Medal
- 2021 – Received the Spingarn Medal
- 2021 – Won the Kappa Delta Ann Doner Vaughn Award, sometimes called the "Nobel Prize of Orthopaedic Surgery."
- 2019 – Received the UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences
- 2019 – Won the Walsh McDermott Award from the National Academy of Medicine
- 2019 – Received the Simon Ramo Founders Award from the National Academy of Engineering
- 2019 – Won the American Association for the Advancement of Science Philip Hauge Abelson Prize
- 2016 – Received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation
- 2014 – Won the NIH Director's Pioneer Award
- 2014 – Received the Percy Julian Medal, the highest honor from the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers
His Work in Engineering
Dr. Laurencin is a professor of chemical and materials science engineering. He is also a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Connecticut.
Chemical Engineering Discoveries
He was named one of the 100 Engineers of the Modern Era. This was for his work in creating new polymer-ceramic systems. These systems are used to help bones and muscles heal. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). He also serves on their board of directors. The AIChE even created an award in his honor, the Cato T. Laurencin Award.
Materials Science and Engineering
In materials science, Dr. Laurencin is a Fellow of the Materials Research Society. His work on engineered materials was featured in National Geographic magazine. This was in their "100 Scientific Discoveries that Changed the World" edition. He also won the 2020 Von Hippel Award.
Biomedical Engineering Achievements
His work in biomedical engineering has been honored at the White House. President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Faculty Fellow Award. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering. In 2007, Scientific American magazine called his work one of the "50 Greatest Achievements in Science."
In 2011, Dr. Laurencin became a member of the National Academy of Engineering. This was for his work in biomaterials and tissue engineering. He also won the Pierre Galletti Award in 2009. This is the highest honor in medical and biological engineering.
His Work as a Doctor
Dr. Laurencin is a distinguished professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Connecticut. He trained at Harvard Medical School. He was also the chief surgeon at Beth Israel Hospital. He used to be the Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Connecticut.
He is a certified surgeon for shoulders and knees. Black Enterprise magazine named him one of "America's Leading Physicians." He has also worked as a doctor for USA Boxing and served on their medical board. He is a Commissioner of Boxing for Connecticut.
Dr. Laurencin is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He received the Nicolas Andry Award, which is the highest honor from the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons. He is currently the only living orthopedic surgeon elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Working for Fairness and Justice
Dr. Laurencin cares a lot about helping others. He especially mentors students from groups that are not often represented in science. In 2020, he received the Herbert W. Nickens Award. This award recognized his important work in social justice and fairness.
He also received the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mentor Award. He won the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring. A special fellowship, The Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., Travel Fellowship, was created in his honor. It helps minority students who want to do research.
Dr. Laurencin is an expert in public health. He focuses on health differences among different ethnic groups. He is the main editor of the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. This magazine focuses on health differences. He has written important papers, including one that showed high rates of COVID-19 in Black communities. He also led a group at the National Academy of Sciences that focused on Black men and women in science.
He helped start the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute. This group works to fix health differences based on race. He was the first leader of its board. This institute also created the Cato T. Laurencin Lifetime Achievement Award in his honor.
See also
In Spanish: Cato T. Laurencin para niños
