Christine K. Payne

Yoh Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Christine Payne is the Yoh Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University. Her research focuses on understanding how cells interact with nanomaterials. This includes fundamental questions of nanoparticle transport within cells, as well as applied research to understand the pulmonary response to the inhalation of nanoparticles in a manufacturing setting. Her team uses an interdisciplinary approach that includes elements of materials science, chemistry, biophysics, and lab automation. She teaches classes on the quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics of materials including a class on the “Materials Science of Science Fiction.” She earned a S.B. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago (1998) and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley (2003). Prof. Payne spent 2003-2006 as an NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University. Prof. Payne has received many honors including an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (2009) and a DARPA Young Faculty Award (2011). She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.  

Appointments and Affiliations

• Yoh Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
• Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
• Professor of Chemistry

Contact Information

• Office Location: 534 Research Dr. #311, Wilkinson, Durham, NC 27708
• Office Phone: +1 919 681 2096
• Email Address: christine.payne@duke.edu
• Websites:
  • Payne Lab
  • Google Scholar

Education

• Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, 2003
• B.S. The University of Chicago, 1998

Research Interests

Molecular mechanisms by which cells interact with nanomaterials with applications in nanomedicine and environmental exposure

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

• Jefferson Science Fellows Program - Science, Technology, Engineering and Medical Science. National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine. 2023
• Fellow. Royal Society of Chemistry. 2020

Courses Taught

• ME 592: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
• ME 555: Advanced Topics in Mechanical Engineering
• ME 490: Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering
• ME 412: Modern Materials
• ME 391: Undergraduate Projects in Mechanical Engineering

In the News

• Five New Bass Professors Named for Excellence in Teaching and Research (Apr 23, 2020)
• Mathematics-Bioscience Partnership to Explore Cellular Transport (Jun 8, 2018)
• Christine Payne: Investigating Interactions between Cells and Engineered Materials (Sep 21, 2017 | Pratt School of Engineering)

Representative Publications

• Heckman, MM; Albright, MC; Poulsen, KM; Tighe, RM; Payne, CK, Cellular and In Vivo Response to Industrial, Food Grade, and Photocatalytic TiO2 Nanoparticles., J Phys Chem B, vol 128 no. 37 (2024), pp. 8878-8885 [10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c02804] [abs].
• Bartone, RD; Tisch, LJ; Dominguez, J; Payne, CK; Bonner, JC, House Dust Mite Proteins Adsorb on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Forming an Allergen Corona That Intensifies Allergic Lung Disease in Mice., ACS nano (2024) [10.1021/acsnano.4c07893] [abs].
• Anees, F; Montoya, DA; Pisetsky, DS; Payne, CK, DNA corona on nanoparticles leads to an enhanced immunostimulatory effect with implications for autoimmune diseases., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, vol 121 no. 11 (2024) [10.1073/pnas.2319634121] [abs].
• Dominguez, J; Holmes, SK; Bartone, RD; Tisch, LJ; Tighe, RM; Bonner, JC; Payne, CK, House Dust Mite Extract Forms a Der p 2 Corona on Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Implications for Allergic Airway Disease., Environ Sci Nano, vol 11 no. 1 (2024), pp. 324-335 [10.1039/d3en00666b] [abs].
• Poulsen, KM; Albright, MC; Niemuth, NJ; Tighe, RM; Payne, CK, Interaction of TiO2 nanoparticles with lung fluid proteins and the resulting macrophage inflammatory response., Environ Sci Nano, vol 10 no. 9 (2023), pp. 2427-2436 [10.1039/d3en00179b] [abs].