Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., is the Lillian T. Pratt Distinguished Professor, and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Virginia. He has also been designated a University Professor at the University, and holds professorships in both Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering. Dr. Laurencin earned his B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, and subsequently his M.D. from Harvard Medical School where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and earned the Robinson Award for Excellence in Surgery. Simultaneously, he earned his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was a Hugh Hampton Young Scholar.

After completing his doctoral programs, Dr. Laurencin continued clinical training at the Harvard University Orthopaedic Surgery Program, and ultimately became Chief Resident in Orthopaedic Surgery at the Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Simultaneously, he was an instructor in the Harvard–M.I.T. Division of Health Sciences and Technology, where he directed a biomaterials laboratory at M.I.T. Thereafter, Dr. Laurencin completed a clinical fellowship in Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, working with the team physicians for the New York Mets, and St. John’s University in New York.

Board certified in Orthopaedic Surgery, Dr. Laurencin is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He has lectured throughout the world in the areas of shoulder surgery and biomaterials science as an American, British, and Canadian Traveling Fellow, and has been an instructor in shoulder surgery at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery’s Orthopaedic Learning Center.

Dr. Laurencin’s research interests are in the areas of biomaterials, tissue engineering, drug delivery and nanotechnology. Honored at the White House, Dr. Laurencin received the Presidential Faculty Fellowship Award from President William Clinton in recognition of his research work involving biodegradable polymers. Dr. Laurencin is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and an International Fellow in Biomaterials Science and Engineering. He most recently received the William Grimes Award for Excellence in Chemical Engineering from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Leadership in Technology Award from the New Millennium Foundation.

Accomplishments, Awards, and Recognition:

• Hugh Hampton Young Memorial Prize, MIT (1984-87)
• Magna Cum Laude, Harvard Medical School (1987)
• Trustee, National Medical Association (1990-93, 1997-Present)
• International Men of Achievement (1993)
• Presidential Faculty Fellow Award, The National Science Foundation (1995)
• Fellow, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (1997)
• Regular Member of Orthopaedic Device Panel, Food and Drug Administration (1997)
• Invited Speaker, American Association for the Advancement of Science (1998)
• Distinguished Alumni Award, Princeton University, Association of Black Princeton Alumni (ABPP) (1998)
• Elected Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (1998)
• American Orthopaedic Association's American, British, and Canadian (ABC) Traveling Fellowship Award (1998)
• Elected International Fellow in Biomaterial Science and Engineering (F.B.S.E.) (1999)
• Profiled by IEEE in "Scientists of the Millenium" Series (1999)
• William Grimes Award for Excellence in Chemical Engineering (American Institute of Chemical Engineers ) (2002)
• Elected to the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (2004)