Dr. Payne, Associate Professor of Medicine and cardiovascular physician-scientist, earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Yale University in 2005, followed by an MD and PhD in cardiovascular physiology from Indiana University School of Medicine in 2011. During his clinical training, he distinguished himself as the 2015 UAB Chief Cardiology Fellow and received the Northwestern Cardiology Young Investigator Award in 2016. He joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) faculty in 2018, where he has excelled as a physician-scientist. He currently serves as Chair-Elect of the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology Early Career Committee. Nationally recognized for his research on vascular inflammation, he has led pioneering work in vascular spatial transcriptomics. His studies on atherosclerosis and vascular biology have earned national recognition and significant support, including the inaugural AHA/Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program Career Development Award, the Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and ongoing funding from the NIH and VA. In addition to his research and clinical practice, Dr. Payne serves as Director of the UAB Comprehensive Cardiovascular Center (CCVC).