Biography

Dr Payne completed her PhD in neuroscience at the University of Western Australia in 2013, before being appointed to the role of Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne. In this basic science role Dr Payne developed expertise in rodent autonomic neural anatomy, neural tracing techniques and bladder physiological testing. In 2015, Dr Payne decided to apply her knowledge and skills to develop real-world outcomes for patients and took up the role of Research Fellow at the Bionics Institute, while maintaining an honorary appointment at the University of Melbourne. Dr Payne was attracted to the translational nature of the research at the Bionics Institute and has cemented herself as a lead researcher in the preclinical safety and efficacy evaluation of vagal nerve stimulation for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. She has recently extended the use of this bionic technology to affect other diseases, and identified other potential future treatment options. Her core expertises are in preclinical research for medical devices, chronic stimulation and gastrointestinal disease models in rats. She has a unique, multidisciplinary skill set that is critical to the success of this project. Dr Payne’s role includes performing implantation surgeries, design and implementation of gastrointestinal disease models, electrophysiological testing, analysis and interpretation of data, and preparation of publications. She has published in both national and international journals and is involved in a number of research projects in autonomic nerve stimulation involving local and international collaborations.