Gregory Payne Receives Provost's Excellence Award for Professional Track Faculty
University of Maryland Research Professor Gregory Payne received a 2024 Provost's Excellence Award for Professional Track Faculty in research.
Payne, a research professor in the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR), is a world-renowned expert in measuring oxidation processes and has developed game-changing techniques to measure oxidative stress imbalances linked to schizophrenia and related diseases, opening new possibilities for understanding and treating one of the most devastating mental illnesses.
Payne’s research at the interface of measurement sciences and biomaterials has employed electrochemical methods to induce or observe oxidation processes. He has created electrical techniques to induce the polysaccharide chitosan to self-assemble for the creation of “biosensors” and to measure oxidative stresses resulting from an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in the human body. His work has shown that high levels of oxidative stress are linked to schizophrenia and that exposure to psychological stressors increases oxidative stress, while some dietary interventions can lower it and improve psychiatric symptoms.
“Dr. Payne has been a visionary who has launched entirely new areas of research through his work,” said Srinivasa R. Raghavan, Patrick and Marguerite Sung Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UMD. “He is the quintessential scientist who thrives at the interface between disciplines.”
Payne earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering at Cornell University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan. He was a tenured professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and also at UMD until 2018 when he transferred to a research professor position at what is now IBBR.
He has authored one book and edited another, and has written scores of journal articles and book chapters. He has been awarded more than $22 million in research funding from sources including the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. He also holds 10 patents.
“Dr. Payne is a special collaborator and colleague,” said Deanna L. Kelly, MPower Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “My discussions with him are always very interesting because he is very smart, has deep knowledge, is intrinsically curious and enjoys working across disciplines.”
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