Dr. Christine Payne

Biography

Christine Payne is the Donald M. Alstadt Chair at the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University. Her research focuses on understanding how cells interact with nanomaterials, encompassing fundamental questions related to nanoparticle-protein interactions and applied research aimed at understanding pulmonary responses to the inhalation of nanoparticles in a manufacturing setting. Christine leads a team that employs an interdisciplinary approach, integrating elements of materials science, chemistry, biophysics, and lab automation. She teaches classes including quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and a materials class titled 'Materials Science Science Fiction.' She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1998 and her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2003. Furthering her career, Christine spent three years as a NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University and received notable accolades such as the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award in 2009 and the DARPA Young Faculty Award in 2011. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and served as a Jefferson Science Fellow at the U.S. Department of State, focusing on the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation in 2024.

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