He earned an M.D., magna cum laude, from the Harvard Medical School, and received the Robinson Award for Surgery.

Simultaneously he earned his Ph.D. in biochemical engineering/biotechnology from MIT, where he was named a Hugh Hampton Young Fellow.

[10] Laurencin's papers and patents have had broad impact on human health, launching the use of nanotechnology in musculoskeletal regeneration and ushering in a new era in orthopaedic therapies.

[58] He has been named one of the most highly cited researchers in Material Science and Engineering (Scopus) and his work on engineered materials for soft tissue regeneration was highlighted by National Geographic magazine in its 100 Scientific Discoveries that Changed the World edition.

His work has been honored at the White House, receiving the Presidential Faculty Fellow Award from President Bill Clinton.

Laurencin was named the 2009 winner of the Pierre Galletti Award,[62] medical and biological engineering's highest honor.

In 2012, his work in musculoskeletal tissue regeneration was featured in National Geographic magazine's "100 Discoveries that Changed Our World" edition.

Laurencin is the Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Connecticut.

He served as vice president for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Connecticut.

[66] A board certified shoulder and knee surgeon, Laurencin has been named to "America's Leading Physicians" by Black Enterprise magazine.

He received the Nicolas Andry Award, the highest honor of the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons.

Laurencin received the 2021 Kappa Delta Ann Doner Vaughn Award from the American Society of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

[73] In 2020, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) announced Laurencin as the recipient of the Herbert W. Nickens Award.

The Society for Biomaterials established The Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., Travel Fellowship in his honor, given to underrepresented minority students pursuing research.

[75] He received an honorary degree from Lincoln University, one of the oldest historically Black colleges in the country.

The W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute created the Cato T. Laurencin Lifetime Achievement Award in his honor.