{"id":5202,"date":"2009-10-01T07:00:53","date_gmt":"2009-10-01T11:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=5202"},"modified":"2011-05-31T12:36:40","modified_gmt":"2011-05-31T16:36:40","slug":"gift-for-scholarships-inspired-by-mother%e2%80%99s-influence-as-clinician-mentor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2009\/10\/gift-for-scholarships-inspired-by-mother%e2%80%99s-influence-as-clinician-mentor\/","title":{"rendered":"Gift for Scholarships Inspired by Mother\u2019s Influence as Clinician, Mentor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"<p>Dr.<\/a>
Dr. Cato T. Laurencin, center, vice president for health affairs and dean of the medical school, with a team of researchers for whom he serves as a mentor. Photo by Lanny Nagler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His career has taken him to the forefront of musculoskeletal care and research, recognition by the White House, national prominence in his field, and the helm of the UConn Health Center as vice president for health affairs. But the inspiration that started Dr. Cato Laurencin down the road of medicine was provided by his mother, who operated a clinical practice and research laboratory on the first floor of the family\u2019s row house in North Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

It is in her name and honor that Laurencin and his wife, Cynthia, recently created a fellowship for UConn School of Medicine students. The Helen I. Moorehead-Laurencin, M.D. Research Fellowship Fund supports students who have demonstrated academic achievement and are involved in conducting summer research projects. Laurencin says the emphasis on research perfectly matches his mother\u2019s passion for understanding the science of medicine.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother was the ultimate clinician and scientist \u2013 an urban clinician-scientist, really,\u201d he says. \u201cShe was a superb clinician and, at the same time, someone who kept a small laboratory in the back of her office, where she studied anatomy, physiology, the disease process, and much more. The goals of our gift are consistent with everything she had done in her life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fellowship addresses the other area of focus of Moorehead-Laurencin\u2019s life: ensuring that young people have a mentor. Recipients must provide mentorship to an inner city high school student in the Hartford region. Laurencin says that his mother sought out and assisted young people in their neighborhood, encouraged them to pursue careers in medicine and science, and counseled those around her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really was amazing to watch,\u201d he says. \u201cShe had a personal commitment to the next generation, to young people and their careers. So it felt naturally appealing to me to include a mentoring component in our fund, because of the influence that was there. I believe that, in many ways, an academic environment requires mentoring for success.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to contributing a major gift to create the fund, Laurencin will use an extra $10,000 presented to him as recipient of a 2009 Presidential Award for Excellence for supporting student research experiences. The award recognizes individuals who have successfully mentored underrepresented students studying science or engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no higher calling than furthering the educational advancement of our nation\u2019s young people and encouraging and inspiring our next generation of leaders,\u201d President Barack Obama said in a July 9 press release announcing the list of recipients<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Laurencin cites the support of many mentors throughout his own career, including international bioengineering expert Robert S. Langer of MIT, acclaimed orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Henry Mankin, and Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.<\/p>\n

While Laurencin always knew he would be a clinician, the influence of his mother and other mentors forced him to \u201clook at the breadth of opportunities that were available,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMentoring relationships are important throughout one\u2019s career, and I understand the benefits of being on both sides of the experience,\u201d he says. \u201cWhile we\u2019ve started this fellowship, obviously others can contribute to it as well, and I would welcome them to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about contributing to the Helen I. Moorehead-Laurencin, M.D. Research Fellowship Fund, please contact Dina Plapler<\/a> at 860-679-8077.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Cato Laurencin has established a fund to provide scholarships for medical school students conducting summer research. Recipients will also be required to mentor an inner city high school student.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[53],"class_list":["post-5202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 13:50:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5202"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36486,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5202\/revisions\/36486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5202"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=5202"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}