, the Nancy O鈥橬eill Collegiate Chair and associate professor of psychology at 91吃瓜, has been named a 2017 Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences. She was one of 12 scholars invited to present their research at the Kavli鈥檚 Japanese-American-German Symposium in Germany in September.
Nine 91吃瓜 faculty members have been named Kavli fellows since the program began in 1989, and Payne is the first from the . , an assistant professor in the , was also named a 2017 fellow and invited to attend the symposium.
Kavli fellows are chosen from among young scholars who have received prestigious national fellowships and awards and who have been identified as future leaders in science. More than 150 Kavli fellows have been elected into the National Academy of Sciences, and 12 have been awarded Nobel Prizes.
鈥淚t was such an honor to be asked to even attend, much less give a talk, at this event,鈥� Payne said. 鈥淭o be recognized by the National Academy of Sciences is obviously a very big deal for anyone, but it was especially nice to learn that I was the first ever arts and letters faculty member to become a fellow. This was by far the most important talk I鈥檝e given to date.鈥�
Payne examines data in her Sleep, Stress, and Memory Lab on campus.聽
Payne, who in 2015 , focuses on how sleep and stress influence human memory and psychological function. Her Kavli presentation explored why humans need sleep.
鈥淓veryone sleeps, and humans spend one-third of their lives sleeping. That is a huge amount of our time, yet we don鈥檛 understand the function of sleep,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e know that sleep is critical for everything from memory consolidation to immune function, but that鈥檚 not the same as understanding why sleep evolved.鈥�
Although sleep is essential for brain function, Payne said, many people willingly sacrifice it in order to get more done 鈥� even wearing their sleep deprivation like a badge of honor.
鈥淚t鈥檚 part of the 鈥榝irst one in, last one out鈥� mentality that burns people out and wreaks havoc on actualizing one鈥檚 intellectual potential 鈥� not to mention living a balanced life,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he fact that the National Academy of Sciences is paying attention to sleep neuroscience is fantastic聽because sleep remains a scientific mystery. I鈥檓 thrilled to see it finally getting the attention it deserves.鈥�
The symposium 鈥斅爓hich brings together scientists from around the world to discuss advances and opportunities in a broad range of disciplines 鈥斅燼lso featured sessions on climate change, machine learning and computational modeling, alternative energy sources聽and the discovery of gravitational waves.
For Payne, it was a highlight of her career.
鈥淚t is unusual, to say the least, to attend an event where you can spend several days learning about and discussing so many diverse fields,鈥� she said. 鈥淵et, this cross-cutting scientific discussion is exactly what we need more of if we want to do science that is truly revolutionary. That鈥檚 what the Kavli events are all about.鈥�
Originally published by at on January 23, 2018.