Dr. Payne is an Assistant Professor of Orthopedics at the University of Colorado Denver – Anschutz Medical Campus. She received her B.S. in Physiology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada; her M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal, Canada; and her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her graduate studies in the laboratory of Dr. Johnny Huard focused on the osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs), while her postdoctoral work under the mentorship of Dr. Constance Chu investigated the effect of donor sex and age on the chondrogenic differentiation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs). Dr. Paynes current research program focuses on harnessing the regenerative potential of stem cells for bone and articular cartilage tissue engineering. She is particularly interested in optimizing and controlling the osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of BM-MSCs and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by using different growth factors, scaffolds and physicochemical cues. Her long-term goal is to translate these research efforts into the clinic to enhance bone formation in cases of fracture repair and spine fusion, and to also promote articular cartilage repair. She is also developing novel stem cell and biomaterial-based treatment options for growth plate injuries in the pediatric population. She has been a member of ICRS since 2009.
