2016 Connecticut Medal of Technology

June 3, 2016

By Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.

On May 24, I was very happy to receive the prestigious Connecticut Medal of Technology at the 41st Annual Meeting & Dinner of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE), at the University of New Haven. The Connecticut Medal of Technology is the State of Connecticut’s highest honor for technological achievement in fields crucial to Connecticut’s economic competitiveness.

It is wonderful to receive this recognition for the work I have been doing in Connecticut. Besides our work in science, we have started a number of successful companies here and have been able to reach back by working in STEM education in the state. I am particularly gratified that the state has recognized my work in making Bioscience Connecticut a reality. I wanted to thank those who nominated me and supported my nomination, including Provost Mun Choi here at the University of Connecticut. And, of course, thank you to my extended family, colleagues, and friends who have always supporting me and my vision over the many years.

CICATS Supports Women in Science Program

By Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.

On May 21, as part of the Connecticut Science Center Women in Science program, CICATS' Dr. Linda Barry, Assistant Director and Chief Operating Officer of CICATS, was giving the keynote speech for the ‪#‎DaVinciCoder Girls-only Hack-A-Thon in Connecticut Science Center in downtown Hartford. During the speech, Dr. Barry talked about academic medicine still has low number in women and underrepresented minorities. She also shared her own story to becoming a surgeon. One of our missions is to collaborate in creating a learning environment where underrepresented minority individuals and women can thrive in STEM. We also encourage mentoring to support women throughout their academic and professional experiences, and supporting efforts to retain women in the STEM workforce.

National Medal of Technology and Innovation

Laurencin Receives White House Honors

By Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.

On May 19th, 2016 I was extremely honored to receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Barrack Obama at the White House. This marks the third time I have received White House honors. I was the recipient of the Presidential Faculty Fellow Award from President Bill Clinton for work bridging engineering and medicine, and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math, and Engineering Mentoring from President Obama.

Photos: National Science & Technology Medals Foundation, UConn Health, The National Academy of Inventors

In a press release issued by the White House, President Obama stated, “Science and technology are fundamental to solving some of our nation’s biggest challenges. The knowledge produced by these Americans today will carry our country’s legacy of innovation forward and continue to help countless others around the world. Their work is a testament to American ingenuity.”

The National Medal of Technology and Innovation is America’s highest honor for technological achievement. I give thanks to my family, teachers, mentors, colleagues, and students for inspiring me each and every day. What has been accomplished on this journey is in large part due to them.

Since the announcement of my receiving the National Medal of Technology we have embarked on a number of new and exciting initiatives. These include the Hartford Engineering a Limb Project (HEAL), and the launch of our new Journal, Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine.

To watch the ceremony, visit The White House Official YouTube channel.

Visiting the 301 Military Hospital in Beijing China

By Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.

On May 31st, I had the honor of receiving a personal tour of the prestigious 301 Military Hospital in Beijing. The 301 Military Hospital is a direct subsidiary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Logistics Department. It is also the largest general hospital under the auspices of the PLA. Its mission includes assuring the health of PLA and China's leaders. The hospital has 125 clinical, medical and technological departments, and 4000 patient beds. The tour allowed me to see some of the key areas within the hospital. It is a very impressive building, and I was pleased I had the opportunity to tour this first class health facility.

Thank you to Professor Xiaobing Fu (Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering), Professor Peifu Tang (Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery), and medical staff members of the 301 Hospital for hosting my visit.

Speaking at UMass Amherst

June 2, 2016

By Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.

On April 29, I was invited to present the distinguished lecture for the annual Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (NEAGEP) and Five Colleges STEM Diversity Day. NEAGEP is one of 26 NSF-funded programs in the U.S. It focuses on increasing the number of underrepresented minority students in STEM. In my speech, ‘Innovation and Leadership in Science, Engineering and Medicine’, I shared my story and talk about aspects of the convergence of innovation and technology. I enjoyed sharing some principles for success as well as my personal philosophies in terms of successfully developing and encouraging young people in the STEM field. It was a fascinating event. Thanks to UMass Amherst for hosting the event.

New Issue of Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine

May 20, 2016

By Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.

I am very pleased to announce the second issue of the Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine has been published. I thank all the editors, editorial board members, reviewers, and editorial staff. Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine is an international journal mainly devoted to the publication of original studies and research on regenerative engineering.

In this new issue, we have assembled an excellent selection of original articles. Dr. Justin Brown of Penn State University created a novel biodegradable scaffold system with unique crisscross fiber geometry for tendon and ligament tissue engineering. Dr. Dinesh Srinivasan of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore demonstrated the addition of silk fibroin and minocycline hydrochloride to polycaprolactone-based scaffolds potentially enhanced adipose-derived stem cells differentiation into osteogenesis. Dr. Samir Mitragotri of UC Santa Barbara developed novel peptide-based technologies for treating skin disease. Dr. Evan Scott at Northwestern reviewed recent progress in the use of nanomaterials designed to enhance imaging and therapeutic intervention of atherosclerotic inflammation. In addition, there is a News and Views article edited by Dr. Ali Khademhosseini of Harvard University.

I hope you will find this issue of Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine informative. Please consider submitting your work to this promising academic venue.

2016 Young Innovative Investigator Program

By Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.

As the CEO of the Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (CICATS), I congratulate the Young Innovative Investigator Program (YIIP) scholars who earned their master degrees in biomedical science from the UConn Graduate School. Under the direction of Dr. Linda Barry, CICATS Assistant Director and YIIP program director, the program’s aim is providing academic training to underrepresented minorities who are dedicated to pursuing careers as scientists and scholars in the biological and biomedical sciences. The ultimate goal is developing the next generation of innovative biomedical scientists while incresing diversity in the current pool of academic scientists. YIIP provides tools for scholars to conduct research, succeed in an academic environment, and become competitive candidates for medical or graduate school. All of our YIIP scholars conducted basic scientific research in a UConn Health lab under the direction of their assigned faculty. Simultaneously, they completed graduate level studies. I am proud of their achievements and look forward to their successes! Thank you to all our faculty and staff who contributed to the success of the program.

Intel International Science and Engineering Fair

May 12, 2016

By Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.

On May 10th, I was honored to sit on the Excellence in Science and Technology Discussion Panel for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) in Phoenix, AZ. Intel ISEF is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition, the premier science competition in the world. Each year, it provides a forum for more than 1,750 high school students from more than 75 countries, regions and territories to showcase their independent research. The discussion panel was made up of many Nobel Laureates and other prestigious scientists. During the discussion, I talked about the most important characteristics of a scientist and the power of regenerative engineering. The event was incredibly rewarding and I really enjoyed the discussion with students and the panelists.

CICATS Participated in STEAM Career Expo

By Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.

On April 23rd, the Urban League of Greater Hartford Young Professionals in Partnership with professionals from the Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (CICATS) at UConn, Wesleyan University, Southern New England Association of Technical Professionals, and Capital Community College hosted the 1st Annual Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematical (STEAM) Career Expo in downtown Hartford, CT. The STEAM Expo gave local students the opportunity to learn real world applications of math, science, and engineering and encourage students to pursue a career in the STEAM fields. The event was also designed to encourage students to enter the pipeline and eventually pursue careers in these fields, creating a diverse workforce of future leaders in STEAM.

Dr. Linda Barry, Assistant Director of CICATS, and several members from CICATS and the Institute for Regenerative Engineering (IRE) participated in the Career Expo. During the event, they shared their real research and clinical experiences with young people in Hartford. One of our missions is to ensure that young people in our community have mentors and to encourage them to pursue STEAM for their careers. IRE provides high-school and college students with numerous research opportunities in our laboratories. Each summer, we recruit students who are interested in medicine, dental medicine, engineering or biomedical research to participate in our research programs.

Learn more about our training and mentoring programs.

Former Graduate Students Granted Tenure and Promotion

Justin Brown of Penn State University received tenure and promotion to associate professor. In 2008, Professor Brown received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from my lab at the University of Virginia. In 2010, He joined to the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Penn State as assistant professor in 2010. His current research involves the investigation of the interface between osteoprogenitor cells and synthetic nanofibers. This includes the application of systems biology to elucidate the alterations in the interactome of an osteoprogenitor on nanofiber substrates as the cell population progresses from adhesion, to migration and proliferation, and finally differentiation; and also the utilization of polymer chemistry to modulate the diameter of synthetic nanofibers across several orders of magnitude and evaluate the subsequent alterations and interactions of focal adhesion proteins.

Ehsan Jabbarzadeh of the University of South Carolina also received tenure and promotion to associate professor. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from my lab at Drexel in 2007. Three years later, he joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at University of South Carolina as an assistant professor. The overarching theme of Professor Jabbarzadeh’s research include robust design and engineering of tissues through understanding and modeling of the environmental effects on stem cell differentiation and tissue remodeling and development. This includes engineering microenvironments based on carbon nanotube arrays with finely controllable biophysical and biochemical properties for the investigation of molecular mechanisms associated with cell migration, proliferation and differentiation. Investigations in his lab revolve around how cells sense distinctive types of mechanical, biochemical and morphological cues and integrate them to generate an appropriate response. This work is complemented by a parallel effort to construct a single cell based mathematical model of intercellular signaling events that are linked to signaling outputs associated with fate commitment.

I offer each my enthusiastic congratulations!