UConn’s Dr. Cato T. Laurencin, University Professor and Albert and Wilda van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, delivered a lecture on regenerative engineering as Elsevier’s MRC Distinguished Lecturer of the Year.
Elsevier is an academic publishing company that specializes in scientific, technical, and medical works. Laurencin created the field of regenerative engineering and defines it as a field that converges advanced materials sciences, stem cell sciences, physics, developmental biology, and clinical translation to foster scientific innovation. The Distinguished Lecture for 2024 was sponsored by Elsevier and The Mechanics Research Communications journal. It was hosted by its editor-in-chief, Dr. Anthony Rosato.
Elsevier is also the publisher of Laurencin’s autobiography, Success is What You Leave Behind: Fostering Leadership and Innovation which reveals the 16 proven practices that Laurencin has used to build his distinguished career as a renowned orthopaedic surgeon, biomedical engineer, educator, and mentor. The book was recently recognized as an Amazon Best Seller. Laurencin spoke of lessons provided in his autobiography during his lecture.
Laurencin is a professor of Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering. He is the Chief Executive Officer of The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, a cross-campus institute created in his honor. He is a recipient of the Priestley Medal for his distinguished accomplishments in the chemistry field, the highest honor of the American Chemical Society, and the Von Hippel Award, the highest honor of the Materials Research Society. He has received the Founder’s Award in both Biomedical Engineering (from the Biomedical Engineering Society) and in Chemical Engineering (from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He is an elected member of the National Academies of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Medicine. A rare occurrence, he is the first surgeon in history to be elected to all four of these academies.
Laurencin learned his B.S.E in chemical engineering from Princeton University, his M.D., magna cum laude, from the Harvard Medical School, and his Ph.D. in Biochemical engineering/Biotechnology from MIT.
