Payne Named Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Christine Payne, the Yoh Family Associate Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science (MEMS) at Duke University, has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in the United Kingdom.

The 175-year-old RSC confers the award upon members nominated by their peers who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the chemical sciences.

“It’s really an honor to be named a Fellow of the RSC. I look forward to taking my group out to celebrate once it is safe to do so,” said Payne.

Payne, who joined the Duke faculty in 2018, conducts research into the molecular mechanisms by which cells interact with materials, specifically nanoparticles and nanowires. The goal of her research is to understand how cells interact with materials and then use this knowledge to better regulate human exposure to nanomaterials and to predict nanomaterial-protein interactions, thereby increasing the pace and reducing the cost of nanomaterial development.

Current projects include studying the pulmonary response to combined nanomaterial-ozone exposures, funded by the National Institutes of Health, and developing a library of protein-nanoparticle interactions through automated sample handling, funded by the National Science Foundation. She is also part of the NSF-Simons Foundation Southeast Center for Mathematics and Biology.

Payne serves as the director of graduate studies in MEMS. She also is a Bass Fellow, a Duke University honor bestowed in 2020 for her excellence in teaching and research; is a member of the Steering Committee of the Duke Materials Initiative; a member of the Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics and the Integrated Toxicology & Environmental Health Program; and holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Chemistry.