Richard Payne, M.D., an internationally known expert in the areas of pain relief, care for those near death, oncology and neurology, is the Ester Colliflower Professor and Director of the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life at the Duke Divinity School at Duke University. The Institute seeks to improve care at the end of life through interdisciplinary scholarship, teaching and outreach.
Prior to his appointment at Duke, Payne led the Pain and Palliative Care Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City since 1998. Dr. Payne directed the program’s clinical and rehabilitation services as well as research and training programs. Dr. Payne also held the Anne Burnett Tandy Chair in Neurology during his tenure at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. In addition, he served as professor of neurology and pharmacology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
From 2003-2004, Dr. Payne was president of the American Pain Society. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, The American Academy of Neurology, and the American Academy of Pain Medicine. As a member of the American Medical Association, Dr. Payne serves on the Education for Physicians in End-of-Life Care subcommittee of the Palliative Care Advisory Board.
Dr. Payne received his bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University and his medical doctorate from Harvard University. He completed his residence in medicine at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Mass., and his residence in neurology at the Cornell Campus of the New York Presbyterian Hospital, and a post-graduate fellowship in neuro-oncology and pain medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.