Richard Payne
Professor
Contact
Email: rpayne@umd.edu
Office Phone: 301.405.1094
Lab: 301.405.6924
Fax: 301.314.9358
Office Address: 3220 Bio-Psych
URL: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~rpayne/home/index.html
Graduate Program Affiliations
Research Interests
Dr. Payne investigates mechanisms of visual excitation in photoreceptors. The research concentrates on messenger molecules released by light inside photoreceptor cells. These messengers mediate and modulate the electrical response of the photoreceptor to light. One messenger under investigation is inositol trisphosphate, which releases calcium from internal stores within a wide range of animal and plant cells. When injected into the giant photoreceptors of the horseshoe crab, inositol trisphosphate mimics excitation of the cell by light. Biochemical studies have shown that light releases inositol trisphosphate from the photoreceptor's membrane into the cell interior. These giant photoreceptors are one of the few living cells in which the actions of this important messenger can be easily studied.
Recent Publications
Bandyopadhyay BC, Payne R. Variants of TRP ion channel mRNA present in horseshoe crab ventral eye and brain. J Neurochem. 2004 Nov;91(4):825-35.
Education
Ph.D., Australian National University, 1982. Mechanisms of visual excitation in photoreceptors by injecting messenger molecules into cells and monitoring intracellular calcium release and the activity of ionic channels.
Contact
Email: rpayne@umd.edu
Office Phone: 301.405.1094
Lab: 301.405.6924
Fax: 301.314.9358
Office Address: 3220 Bio-Psych
URL: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~rpayne/home/index.html
Graduate Program Affiliations
- Neuroscience & Cognitive Science (NACS)
- BISI - BISI-Physiological Systems (PSYS)
- BISI - BISI-Molecular & Cellular Biology (MOCB)
Research Interests
Dr. Payne investigates mechanisms of visual excitation in photoreceptors. The research concentrates on messenger molecules released by light inside photoreceptor cells. These messengers mediate and modulate the electrical response of the photoreceptor to light. One messenger under investigation is inositol trisphosphate, which releases calcium from internal stores within a wide range of animal and plant cells. When injected into the giant photoreceptors of the horseshoe crab, inositol trisphosphate mimics excitation of the cell by light. Biochemical studies have shown that light releases inositol trisphosphate from the photoreceptor's membrane into the cell interior. These giant photoreceptors are one of the few living cells in which the actions of this important messenger can be easily studied.
Recent Publications
Bandyopadhyay BC, Payne R. Variants of TRP ion channel mRNA present in horseshoe crab ventral eye and brain. J Neurochem. 2004 Nov;91(4):825-35.
Education
Ph.D., Australian National University, 1982. Mechanisms of visual excitation in photoreceptors by injecting messenger molecules into cells and monitoring intracellular calcium release and the activity of ionic channels.
