Medical & Dental

Cato T. Laurencin

STR GRAFT biodegradable rotator-cuff scaffold

United StatesEvidence: high confidenceChecked July 2026

Person-specific 2025 UConn photograph credited to Sean Flynn. Rights remain with UConn or the photographer.

Who is Cato T. Laurencin?

Cato T. Laurencin is an inventor associated with United States. Their documented work in medical & dental includes STR GRAFT biodegradable rotator-cuff scaffold, the contribution at the center of this evidence-backed profile.

Cato T. Laurencin developed STR GRAFT, a three-dimensional biodegradable braided scaffold designed to reinforce rotator-cuff repair while the patient's own tissue grows through it. The FDA-cleared implant translated his polymer, fiber and regenerative-engineering research into a specific marketed surgical product, alongside his later Laurencin-Cooper ligament scaffold.

Known forSTR GRAFT biodegradable rotator-cuff scaffold
FieldMedical & Dental
Associated withUnited States
Evidence reviewed3 sources
01

What did Cato T. Laurencin invent?

Developed a three-dimensional biodegradable braided scaffold for surgical soft-tissue repair.

02

What did Cato T. Laurencin accomplish?

STR GRAFT embodied regenerative engineering as a commercial implant: a temporary load-sharing structure intended to disappear as repaired tissue takes its place.

03

What is known about Cato T. Laurencin today?

UConn reported Laurencin receiving the 2025 Terasaki Innovation Award on February 18, 2025 and described his continuing translational work and marketed soft-tissue implants.