About Our Staff

Patrick Mason, M.D., Ph.D

Dr. Mason is the Director and founder of the International Adoption Center. He received both his M.D. and Ph.D. from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA. He then went on to complete his Pediatric Residency and fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at Emory University in Atlanta. He has been working with internationally adopted children for many years and is now on the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Section on Adoption and Foster Care. Dr Mason has faculty appointments at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and as a Voluntary Faculty at the National Institute of Health.

As an endocrinologist, Dr. Mason is very interested in issues related to early life events and how they relate to growth, puberty and the body's stress response in internationally adopted children. Dr. Mason is conducting several research projects to better understand these effects. His ongoing research project is examining the effects of early life experiences in international orphanages on the child's stress response and its impact on growth and puberty. Dr. Mason has spoken throughout the country on these topics.

Dr Mason is also committed to caring to children who are not adopted. He has led medical mission trips throughout the world caring for children in orphanages. Trips have included care for children in Honduras, Romania and Russia. Dr Mason is the Board President of HOMBRE an organization committed to providing care in Honduras as well as training medical students and residents in the care of children around the world. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Golden Phoenix, a foundation developed to help with these relief efforts.

Jacqueline Payne RN, BSN

Jackie is the Clinical Director of the International Adoption Center. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Jackie worked on a post-partum unit prior to joining the adoption center team. She will soon be going back to school to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner to further her nursing education and training.

This year, she attended the medical trip to Honduras to provide preventative and comprehensive care to the children in the local orphanages, as well as provided care to the members of the general population. Jackie in addition to her clinical duties, Jackie will help coordinate all of our research projects.