Dr. Payne received her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology in 2011 with Graham Hatfull at the University of Pittsburgh. She pursued postdoctoral studies with Paul Kinchington at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Ophthalmology before joining the Department as full-time teaching faculty in 2015.
Payne, K., Q. Sun, J. Sacchettini, and G.F. Hatfull (2009) Mycobacteriophage Lysin B is a novel mycolylarabinogalactan esterase. Mol. Microbiol. 73:367-381
Payne, K.M., and Hatfull, G.F. (2012). Mycobacteriophage endolysins: diverse and modular enzymes with multiple catalytic activities. PLoS One 7, e34052
My research background is in Molecular Biology and Virology, with experience studying mycobacteriophages and Herpes Simplex Virus type 1. As an instructor, I teach and coordinate upper-level laboratory courses, including Introduction to Microbiology Lab and Virology Lab, which currently genetically engineers fluorescent reporter mycobacteriophages in association with the Hatfull Lab.