Innovation Unscripted with Cato Laurencin – Howard University

Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick is the 17th president of Howard University and the distinguished Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery at the Howard University College of Medicine. He is also a practicing cancer surgeon at Howard University Hospital, where he continues to see patients and perform surgeries. He is a true son of Howard, having earned three degrees from the University – a B.S. in 1990, an M.D. in 1994, and an MBA in 2011. As president of Howard, Dr. Frederick has worked to strengthen internal operations in order to enhance the student experience and position the University to more effectively serve the community. He has overseen a period of immense growth and transformation at Howard, including record-breaking enrollment numbers and philanthropic donations. Dr. Frederick is an expert on health care disparities and devotes his time to speaking about and advocating for social justice as well as diversity, equity and inclusion. Dr. Frederick also serves on the boards of numerous institutions and organizations, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Humana Inc. Dr. Frederick is also a member of surgical and medical associations, including the American Surgical Association, the American Cancer Society and the American College of Surgeons.

Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., is the University Professor and Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Connecticut. He is Professor of Chemical Engineering, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the school. He serves as the Chief Executive Officer of The Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering and the Director of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biomedical, Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences at UConn.

Dr. Laurencin earned a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, and his M.D., Magna Cum Laude, from the Harvard Medical School, and received the Robinson Award for Surgery. He earned his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was named a Hugh Hampton Young Fellow. A practicing sports medicine and shoulder surgeon, Dr. Laurencin has been named to America’s Top Doctors for over fifteen years. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a Fellow of the American Orthopaedic Association, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Surgical Association.

Dr. Laurencin is a pioneer of the new field, Regenerative Engineering. He is an expert in biomaterials science, stem cell technology and nanotechnology and was named one of the 100 Engineers of the Modern Era by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Dr. Laurencin is active in mentoring, especially underrepresented minority students. He received the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mentor Award, the Beckman Award for Mentoring, and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring in ceremonies at the White House. The Society for Biomaterials established The Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. Travel Fellowship in his honor, awarded to underrepresented minority students pursuing research. Dr. Laurencin is also active in addressing Health Disparities. Dr. Laurencin completed the Program in African-American Studies at Princeton University. He is a core faculty member of the Africana Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut, and is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, published by Springer Nature. He co-Founded the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute, dedicated to addressing Health Disparities, and served as its Founding Chair.

Dr. Laurencin is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He is the first surgeon in history elected to all four of these academies. He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Active internationally, he is an elected fellow of the Indian National Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Academy of Engineering, the African Academy of Sciences, The World Academy of Sciences, and is an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Dr. Laurencin received the Founder’s Award (highest award) from the Society for Biomaterials, the Von Hippel Award (highest award) from the Materials Research Society and the James Bailey Award (highest award) from the Society for Biological Engineering. He received the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, NIH’s highest and most prestigious research award, for his new field of Regenerative Engineering and the National Science Foundation’s Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Grant Award. Dr. Laurencin is the Editor-in-Chief of Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine, published by Springer Nature, and is the Founder of the Regenerative Engineering Society. He is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society, a Fellow of the Materials Research Society and a AAAS Fellow. The American Association for the Advancement of Science awarded Dr. Laurencin the Philip Hauge Abelson Prize given ‘for signal contributions to the advancement of science in the United States’.

Dr. Laurencin is the recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, America’s highest honor for technological achievement, awarded by President Barack Obama in ceremonies at the White House. He is the first individual in history to receive the oldest/highest award of the National Academy of Medicine (the Walsh McDermott Medal) and the oldest/highest award of the National Academy of Engineering (the Simon Ramo Founder’s Award).