Christine Payne

Christine Payne served as an associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology, joining the faculty in 2007 after earning an S.B. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1998, a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 2003, and completing an NIH NRSA postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University from 2003 to 2006. During her tenure at Georgia Tech, she was affiliated with the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience and contributed to interdisciplinary initiatives such as the BRAIN Initiative, where her lab was selected among 131 investigators nationwide, and the Southeast Center for Mathematics and Biology. She was elected Councilor for the Physical Chemistry division of the American Chemical Society.

Payne's research centered on nanoparticle-cell interactions, including the formation of protein coronas on nanoparticles, cellular internalization and transport, oxidative stress responses, and applications in nanomedicine and environmental health. Her studies examined how TiO2 nanoparticles subtly alter oxidative stress gene expression, induce plasma membrane oxidation, and interact with lung fluid proteins to elicit macrophage responses. She developed tools like HyPer-Tau for spatially resolved hydrogen peroxide sensing in live cells and explored pyrenebutyrate-mediated delivery of quantum dots across the blood-brain barrier. Key publications include "Molecular Structure of the Protein Corona and Cellular Outcomes" (Accounts of Chemical Research, 2014), "Nanoparticle–Cell Interactions: Relevance for Public Health" (Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2018), "TiO2 Nanoparticle-Induced Oxidation of the Plasma Membrane: Importance of the Protein Corona" (Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2017), "A protein corona primer for physical chemists" (Journal of Chemical Physics, 2019), and "Common nanoparticle has subtle effects on oxidative stress genes" (Georgia Tech news, 2016). Payne received the NIH Research Scholar Development Award (2007), ACS PROGRESS/Dreyfus Lectureship (2008), NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (2009), DARPA Young Faculty Award (2011), Vasser Woolley Award (2014), and was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2021).

Professional Email: christine.payne@chemistry.gatech.edu