The Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) and the UConn Foundation are teaming up to support The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering at the University of Connecticut (UConn). The field of regenerative engineering is the brainchild of Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., the University Professor and Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Chair in Academic Medicine Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at UConn. Funds raised by OREF, and the UConn Foundation will support the core programs of The Cato T. Laurencin Institute.
Dr. Laurencin told OTW, “I am very happy to see the pace in which this partnership has been formed to advance the field of Regenerative Engineering that I founded. This is a first of a kind partnership which is really centered on bringing new technologies and solutions to benefit patients.”
Dr. Laurencin is the first surgeon elected to the four national academies: the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Inventors. In orthopedic surgery, Dr. Laurencin is the first to receive the American Orthopaedic Association’s Distinguished Contributions to Orthopaedics Award, the Nicholas Andry Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons, the Kappa Delta Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and the Marshall R. Urist Award from the Orthopaedic Research Society.
Dr. Laurencin has outlined regenerative engineering as the convergence of advanced materials science, stem cell science, physics, developmental biology, and clinical translation, for the regeneration of complex tissues and organ systems. The groundbreaking work of Dr. Laurencin includes the launch of the Hartford Engineering a Limb (HEAL) Project aimed at regenerating whole limbs. Dr. Laurencin has been honored with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, America’s highest honor for technological achievement, given in ceremonies at the White House. Dr. Laurencin is the 2023 Inventor of the Year, named by the Intellectual Property Owner’s Education Foundation.
“We started the Hartford Engineering a Limb Project with the goal of regenerating whole limbs in humans. To make this happen we will need expanded resources for The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering,” stated Dr. Laurencin to OTW. “It is gratifying to see OREF, and the University of Connecticut Foundation embrace our vision.”
“The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering brings together an array of vital domains integrating medicine, engineering, surgery, biology, physics, chemistry, and statistics/machine learning to enable a powerful platform for addressing scientific and medical problems in the regeneration and healing of complex tissues, organs, or organ systems. This new partnership is exciting. It will advance clinical treatment and patient outcomes through novel research, and through translating findings directly to technologies helping people.”
