Samantha Payne
Assistant Professor
BSc, MSc (Guelph), PhD (Toronto)
spayne@uoguelph.ca
Office: Biomed 2604 OVC
519-824-4120 Ext. 54934
Lab: Biomed 2605-7 OVC
519-824-4120 Ext. 54973
Research Interests
- Bioelectric control of cell behaviour and positional identity during regeneration
- Role of neural-supplied physical guidance cues in regeneration
- Reprogramming of cell identity by neural-based environmental cues
- Common molecular pathways regulating regeneration and cancer
Upon injury, there are three ways that a tissue can respond: 1) scarring, 2) regeneration, or 3) neoplasia. In mammals, the default response is scarring. Many cell-intrinsic and environmental factors play a role in the response to injury, but induction of complete regeneration in mammals remains elusive. Understanding the key regulatory signals in the cellular response to injury can give insight into promoting regeneration. The overarching goal of our lab is to identify the environmental cues that drive cell behaviour following wounding and to understand how cells sense and respond to these cues to promote regeneration.
It is well established that innervation is essential for regeneration in both non-mammalian and mammalian species. Nerves are one of the first structures to infiltrate into an injured tissue and their ablation inhibits regeneration, resulting in aberrant tissue patterning. While nerves have been recognized as a potential means to promote regeneration, the exact mechanisms remain largely unknown. By identifying the core neural-mediated drivers of regeneration, we can target their deficiency in mammals to develop new regenerative medicine strategies
Current Graduate Students
- Kayla Amuge - MBS
- Fatima Askari - MSc
- Kayla Favaro - MSc
- Melissa Hardman – PhD
- Alexandra Noble - MSc
Selected Publications
- Srivastava A, Noble A, Payne SL. 2025. Sensory nerve-secreted factors regulate basal keratinocyte function in vitro. Integrative Organismal Biology. 7(1):obaf009.
- Murugan N, Cariba S*, Abeygunawardena S, Rouleau N, Payne SL. 2024. Biophysical control of plasticity and patterning in regeneration and cancer. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 81(1):9.
- Cariba S, Srivastava A, Bronsema K, Kouthouridis S, Zhang B, Payne SL. 2024. Innervated co-culture device to model peripheral nerve-mediated fibroblast activation. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. 10(12): 7566 – 7576.
- Noble A, Qubrosi R, Cariba S, Favaro K, Payne SL. 2024. Neural dependency in wound healing and regeneration. Developmental Dynamics 253(2):181-203.
- Conner S, Guarin JR, Le TT, Fatherree J, Kelley C, Payne SL, Salhany K, McGinn R, Henrich E, Yui A, Parker S, Srinivasan D, Bloomer H, Borges H, Oudin MJ. 2024. Cell morphology best predicts tumorigenicity and metastasis in vivo across multiple TNBC cell lines of different metastatic potential. Breast Cancer Research. 26(1):43.
- Payne SL, Ram P, Srinivasan DH, Le TT, Levin M, Oudin MJ. 2022. Potassium channel-driven bioelectric signaling regulates metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer. EBioMedicine 75(103767), 1-25.
- Le TT, Payne SL, Buckwald MN, Hayes LA, Parker SR, Burge CB, Oudin MJ. 2022. Sensory nerves enhance triple-negative breast cancer migration and metastasis via the axon guidance molecule PlexinB3. npj Breast Cancer 8,116.
- McMillen P, Oudin MJ, Levin M, Payne SL. 2021. Beyond neurons: Long distance communication in development and cancer. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology doi:10.3389/fcell.2021.739024.
- Payne SL*, Bonzanni M*, Adelfio M*, Kaplan DL, Levin M, Oudin MJ. 2020. Defined extracellular ionic solutions to study and manipulate the cellular resting membrane potential. Biology Open 9: bio048553. *co-first author
- Tuladhar A, Obermeyer JM, Payne SL, Siu RCW, Morshead CM, Shoichet MS. 2020. Injectable hydrogel enables local and sustained co-delivery to the brain: Two clinically approved biomolecules, cyclosporine and erythropoietin, accelerate functional recovery in rat model of stroke. Biomaterials 235:119794.
- Payne SL, Levin M, Oudin MJ. 2019. Bioelectric control of metastasis in solid tumors. Bioelectricity 1(3):114-130.
- Payne SL, Tuladhar A, Obermeyer JM, Varga BV, Teal CJ, Morshead CM, Nagy A, Shoichet MS. 2019. Initial cell maturity changes following transplantation in a hyaluronan-based hydrogel and impacts therapeutic success in the stroke-injured rodent brain. Biomaterials 192: 309-322.
- Hettiaratchi MH, O’Meara MJ, Teal CJ, Payne SL, Pickering AJ, Shoichet MS. 2019. Local delivery of stabilized chondroitinase ABC degrades chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans in stroke-injured rat brains. Journal of Controlled Release 297:14-25.
- Obermeyer JM, Tuladhar A, Payne SL, Ho E, Morshead CM, Shoichet MS. 2019. Local delivery of BDNF enables behavioural recovery and tissue repair in stroke-injured rats. Tissue Engineering Part A, 10.1089/ten.TEA.2018.0215.
- Payne SL, Ballios BG, Baumann DM, Cooke MJ, Shoichet MS. 2019. “Tissue Therapy: Central Nervous System” in Principles of Regenerative Medicine – 3rd Edition, p 1199-1221, edited by A Atala, R Lanza, J Thomson, R Nerem. Elsevier, Philadelphia.
- Payne SL*, Tuladhar A*, Shoichet MS. 2018. Harnessing the potential of biomaterials for brain repair after stroke. Frontiers in Materials 5: 1-25. *co-first author
- Payne SL, Anandakumaran PN, Varga BV, Morshead C, Nagy A, Shoichet MS. 2018. Maturation of cortically-specified neuroepithelial cells influences transplant survival following delivery in a hydrogel to the stroke-injured rat brain. Tissue Engineering Part A 24(3-4): 351-360.
- Payne SL, Peacock H, Vickaryous MK. 2017. Blood vessel formation during tail regeneration in the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius): the blastema is not avascular. Journal of Morphology 278(3):380-389.
- Führmann T, Anandakumaran PN, Payne SL, Varga B, Nagy A, Tator C, Shoichet MS. 2017. Combined delivery of chondroitinase ABC and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neuroepithelial cells promote tissue repair in an animal model of spinal cord injury. Biomedical Materials 13: 024103.
- Delplace V, Payne SL, Shoichet M. 2015. Delivery strategies for treatment of age-related ocular diseases: From a biological understanding to biomaterial solutions. Journal of Controlled Release; 219: 652-668.
- Gilbert EB, Payne SL, Vickaryous MK. 2013. The anatomy and histology of caudal autotomy and regeneration in lizards. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology; 86(6): 631-644.
- Payne SL, Holliday C, Vickaryous M. 2011. An osteological and histological investigation of cranial joints in geckos. The Anatomical Record; 294(3): 399-40
