Sara Payne

Student

Email: 
sara.payne@duke.edu
Sara Payne
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) student in Cell Biology, Duke University, 2015- Present My scientific goal is to understand the interactions between stem cells and their surrounding microenvironment, the niche,  in both normal development, and misregulation in diseases including cancer and infertility. I am particularly interested in exploring the structural and signaling roles of an integral component of the niche--the basement membrane--in maintaining stem cells. Basement membranes are secreted, cell-associated, thin sheets of extracellular matrix that structurally support niches and can regulate stemness and cell proliferation. Using live-cell imaging with genetic, transgenic, and molecular perturbations in the nematode C. elegans, I can advance our understanding of niche-stem cell dynamics which will further our understanding of how their misregulation promotes disease.  My diverse research background in the environment and organismal microenvironment drive my current interests and provide me with a unique and interdisciplinary perspective on niche regulation and stem cell interactions. Prior to joining Duke, I conducted undergraduate research at Barnard College in the microbial ecology lab of Dr.Krista McGuire, evaluating diversity and dynamics of soil fungi in urban ecosystems. Expanding upon this ecology research, I sought to understand the transduction of environmental stimuli to internal signaling. For a semester, I studied gustation and chemosensation in the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta with Dr. Jennifer Mansfield. This research experience was a critical turning point in my scientific curiosity, as I became intrigued by internal signaling cues, and how they regulate organismal niches. Upon graduation, I worked as a research technician at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Dr. Teresa Bowman’s blood stem cell lab as a research technician, and delved into organismal niche/stem cell biology. I studied zebrafish HSC development and function to gain insight into myelodysplastic syndromes, aiming to inform new therapies. Educational  Background and Employment
2009-2013 Bachelor of Arts, major: Biological Sciences; minor: Spanish and Latin American Cultures
Barnard College 2009-2014 Office Manager and Clinical Assistant, OB/GYN Private Practice
Private Practice of Dr. Lorraine Chrisomalis- Valasiadis 2013-2015 Research Technician
Albert Einstein College of Medicine 2016-2018 Teaching Assistant
Duke University

McGuire, Krista L., Sara Payne, Giulia Orazi, and Matthew I. Palmer. “Bacteria and Fungi in Green Roof Ecosystems.” In Green Roof Ecosystems. Springer, 2015.

Rajshekar, Srivarsha, Jun Yao, Paige K. Arnold, Sara G. Payne, Yinwen Zhang, Teresa V. Bowman, Robert J. Schmitz, John R. Edwards, and Mary Goll. “Pericentromeric hypomethylation elicits an interferon response in an animal model of ICF syndrome.” Elife 7 (November 28, 2018). https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.39658. Full Text

Linden, Lara M., Kacy L. Gordon, Ariel M. Pani, Sara G. Payne, Aastha Garde, Dane Burkholder, Qiuyi Chi, Bob Goldstein, and David R. Sherwood. “Identification of regulators of germ stem cell enwrapment by its niche in C. elegans.” Developmental Biology 429, no. 1 (September 2017): 271–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2017.06.019. Full Text

De La Garza, Adriana, Rosannah C. Cameron, Sara Nik, Sara G. Payne, and Teresa V. Bowman. “Spliceosomal component Sf3b1 is essential for hematopoietic differentiation in zebrafish.” Experimental Hematology 44, no. 9 (September 2016): 826-837.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exphem.2016.05.012. Full Text

Afroz, Anika, Natalie Howlett, Aditi Shukla, Farah Ahmad, Elizabeth Batista, Katie Bedard, Sara Payne, Brian Morton, Jennifer H. Mansfield, and John I. Glendinning. “Gustatory receptor neurons in Manduca sexta contain a TrpA1-dependent signaling pathway that integrates taste and temperature.” Chemical Senses 38, no. 7 (September 2013): 605–17. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjt032. Full Text

McGuire, Krista L., Sara G. Payne, Matthew I. Palmer, Caitlyn M. Gillikin, Dominique Keefe, Su Jin Kim, Seren M. Gedallovich, et al. “Digging the New York City Skyline: soil fungal communities in green roofs and city parks.” Plos One 8, no. 3 (January 2013): e58020. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0058020. Full Text

Selected Grants

Understanding the role of the collagen receptor DDR-2 in germ stem cell niche formation awarded by National Institutes of Health (PI-Fellow). 2019 to 2022

Fellowships, Supported Research, & Other Grants

F31 NRSA awarded by NICHD (2019 to 2021)