The J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society (JRGOS) has selected Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., to be the first recipient of the Augustus A. White III Founders Award. The award ceremony will be held during the 2024 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons meeting in San Francisco, CA. The JRGOS Augustus White Founders Award “recognizes the recipient’s exceptional contributions to advancing culturally sensitive musculoskeletal care while promoting diversity within Orthopaedics and exemplifying an unswerving commitment to excellence in the field.”
Dr. Augustus White III, MD, PhD, FAAOS, whom the award was named after, is the founder of the J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society, whose mission is to increase diversity within the orthopaedic surgery profession and promote the highest quality musculoskeletal care for all people. He served as the first President of the Society. White was the first African American medical student at Stanford, surgical resident at Yale University, professor of medicine at Yale, and department head at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard-affiliated hospital. White served as chief of the orthopedic surgery department for thirteen years.
On the award going to Laurencin, White warmly said, “I am humbled and profoundly honored by the selection of Dr. Cato Laurencin to receive the [Augustus A White, J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society] award in my name. My tremendous congratulations.”
Laurencin is the University Professor and Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, professor of Chemical Engineering, professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Connecticut. He is the chief executive officer of The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, a cross-university institute named for him at the University of Connecticut. A shoulder and knee surgeon, he is the pioneer of the field of Regenerative Engineering. In receiving the Spingarn Medal, the NAACP named him the world’s foremost engineer-physician-scientist. He is the first surgeon elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Inventors.
“Dr. August White has been an absolute trailblazer, who has broken ceilings and opened doors in his 60-year career in surgery. He continues to make tremendous contributions. He is an inspirational figure to me and many others throughout the world. I am honored to receive this award named for him,” stated Laurencin.
