The Office of the Vice President for Research recognizes Cato T. Laurencin, MD, Ph.D., for his NIH Director’s Pioneer Award of almost $4 million; $1.6 million of which comes in the form of a sub-award to UConn Storrs. Dr. Laurencin is a University Professor (the eighth in UConn’s history) with appointments at Storrs and UConn Health. He is the Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery; Professor of Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, and Biomedical Engineering; Director of both the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biomedical, Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences and the Institute for Regenerative Engineering; and Chief Executive Officer of the Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (CICATS). In addition, he is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Laurencin’s project, “Regenerative Engineering of Complex Musculoskeletal Tissues and Joints,” proposes the development of a clinically-viable technique to regenerate complex musculoskeletal tissue and joints to improve quality of life for patients with large areas of complex tissue loss; joint derangement due to arthritis, trauma, infection or other causes; or the loss of limbs. To achieve this, Dr. Laurencin and his team will endeavor to develop universal platforms that will be used to form complex musculoskeletal components of large tissue areas and joints with combinations of matrices (scaffold systems), biological factors, and cells. They will then integrate these tissues into three-dimensional structures for joint-regeneration in an in vitro environment, followed by the testing and optimization of these applications. This research will use a novel approach to regenerative engineering in order to address the problem of musculoskeletal tissue destruction, loss, and wear, which all have major societal implications. This project aims to develop a new therapeutic strategy for the regeneration of complex musculoskeletal tissues and joints, and will revolutionize the treatment of musculoskeletal tissue wear and injury, tremendously improving patient quality of life. Congratulations to Dr. Laurencin and his team for their continued dedication to extraordinary research and their commitment to meaningful improvements in patient care!