MEMBERS
DR. Who
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
SHORYE PAYNE, MD
Aaron Burch
O
phthalmologist Shorye Payne, MD, is a self-proclaimed
vision ambassador. Through her work as a medical
retina specialist at the Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Medical
Center, Dr. Payne fights for her patients’ ability to see.
But her ideas about vision reach much farther.
“Being a vision ambassador is my personal mission statement,”
Dr. Payne explained. “As a Christian, I want you to see the beauty
of Christ, and my mission at work is for you to literally see. I also
have a nonprofit which I started in 2017 called ‘Vision Ambassadors
Incorporated’ which is used to mentor and assist youth, especially
from small towns to give them direction to reach their goals.”
Vision Ambassadors Inc. provides scholarships and education-
al opportunities for underprivileged youth to reach for terminal
degrees to help narrow the economic gap. It’s the logical step in a
rewarding career in which Dr. Payne’s successes have been shared
with a variety of mentors and peers.
“As a child, I believed this career was a God vision. I still believe
it, and because of that, there has always been a door open for me.
Every time I needed to make a shift in my career, people were always
there to make sure I got to the next level,” Dr. Payne said. “This is
the reason for Vision Ambassadors Inc. and why I’m an advocate
for young people to pursue the career they want.”
Growing up in the small town of Clarksdale, Mississippi, Dr.
Payne wasn’t sure how she’d become an ophthalmologist, but the
vision of her profession was already forming in front of her. Some-
times, that’s all you need to start a path towards success.
When she was in 8 th grade, Dr. Payne knew she wanted to become
an eye doctor. Her sister Lisa wanted to be a pediatrician, so why
couldn’t Shorye Payne be a doctor too?
She won the science fair that year with a clay model of an eye
that her stepfather had made. Unbeknownst to her, Dr. Payne had
taken the first steps towards a career in ophthalmology. However,
it was her first roadblock that truly set her on her way.
“Since I won the local science fair, I went up to the next level,”
she said. “I waited for hours at the regional science fair, and when
the judges finally arrived, they asked me just one question: “How
does the back of the eye work?” Because I took the eye at face value
then, I didn’t really understand. They passed me by. But that moment
made me say to myself, ‘No one is going to ask me about the eye,
and I not know the answer, again.’”
Encouraged by her family, Dr. Payne finished undergraduate
courses at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., and pursued
medicine. Although she didn’t qualify for medical school on the
first try, giving up wasn’t an option. Instead, she followed a differ-
ent path. It began with a neuroscience research internship at the
Pennington Biomedical Research Center. She excelled in her work,
winning a travel award to present the laboratory’s work at a seminar
in Anaheim, Calif.
“In that trip, I found the pathway to achieve my goal,” Dr. Payne
remembered. “I knew that I wanted to be an ophthalmologist. I
knew I was intelligent. But, I hadn’t been able to figure out how to
get from point A to point B.”
The door this time was opened by Dr. Jeff Brock of Cynthiana,
Ky. He was Dr. Payne’s research mentor at the Pennington Center
and had earned a Ph.D. from the University of Louisville (UofL). Dr.
Brock introduced her to the idea of being a student at the University’s
School of Medicine. She took him up on the advice, applying and
traveling to the city for her first interview.
“When I came off I-65, the first thing I saw was the KY Lions Eye
Center. That was very exciting. It showed me my goal was attain-
(continued on page 30)
Editor’s Note: Welcome to Louisville Medicine’s member spotlight section, Dr. Who? In the interest of simply getting to know each other
as a society of colleagues, we’ll be highlighting random GLMS physicians on a regular basis. If you would like to recommend any GLMS
physician member to the Editorial Board for this section, please e-mail [email protected] or call him at 736-6338.
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