Richard Payne (In Memoriam)

Richard Payne, MD, was a Professor of Medicine and Divinity at Duke Divinity School, Duke University and the Esther Colliflower Director of the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life.  Prior to his appointment at Duke, Dr. Payne was Chief, Pain and Symptom Management Section, Dept. Neurology M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (1992-1998), in Houston, TX,  and from 1998-2004 led the Pain and Palliative Care Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City where he held the Anne Burnett Tandy Chair in Neurology.

From 2003-2004, Dr. Payne was President of the American Pain Society.  He is certified in palliative medicine from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and in pain management from the American Academy of Neurology and the American Academy of Pain Medicine. He currently serves as chairperson of the board of directors of the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa (FHSSA), program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).

Dr. Payne received his B.A in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University, 1973 and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, 1977.  He completed his post-graduate training in medicine at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, MA, in neurology at the Cornell Campus of the New York Presbyterian Hospital; and fellowship in neuro-oncology and pain medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.