Personal Statement
Born 1966. I am a gastrointestinal physiologist with expertise in endocrine and secretory cell physiology, mucosal glycobiology, immunology and infection. My scientific career started in gut endocrine physiology at UCNW Bangor, receiving a BSc with Honours in Zoology in 1988, and a PhD in Physiology from University of Liverpool in 1991. Following an MRC-funded post-doctoral research position investigating intestinal mucus biology, I held a Wellcome Trust-funded lecturer post in gut physiology, before being appointed to a full-time academic post in Medicine at Liverpool where my research led to specific understanding of the causes and consequences of altered intestinal mucosal glycosylation that occurs in intestinal inflammation and cancer. I now lead one of the key international research groups investigating bacteria-host epithelium interactions of Crohn’s disease- and colorectal cancer-mucosa associated Escherichia coli, including understanding of key inflammatory signal pathways, and translational projects studying effects of antibiotics, environment modulating agents and dietary components. My research is also focused on microbiome and mycobiome changes relevant to to infective diarrhoeal disease, inflammatory bowel disease and gastrointestinal cancers, including assessment of interventions such as probiotics, cannabinoids, environment modulating agents and dietary components. Model approaches include studies on epithelial and immune cell cell-lines, 3D aggregates, spheroids and organoid cultures, ex vivo tissue explants and in vivo models. From 2012 to 2022, I was the Scientists in Gastroenterology’ lead for the British Society of Gastroenterology supporting education, research and organising their annual meeting Translational Science Masterclass symposia. I was appointed to a Personal Chair within the University of Liverpool’s Faculty of Heath & Life Sciences in 2013.

UK Gut Microbiota for Health Expert Panel (under the auspices of the British Society of Gastroenterology): 2013 to present.
European Science Foundation (ESF) college of expert reviewers: 2020 - present
Research Awards Committee for Guts UK; 2024 - present.
Affliate of the Microbiome Innovation Centre - Liverpool; 2022 - present
Cystic fibrosis (CF) TRAILFINDER (TRAnslational Innovation hub for LiFecourse INfection anD Exacerbation Research) ; 2024 - present

Society Memberships:

Microbiology Society (UK)
Glycobiology Society (USA)
British Society of Gastroenterology (UK)
Biochemical Society (UK)

Research Overview
The Campbell lab is open to PGR and visiting research scholar project applications:

Currently areas of research engagement:

(1) Identifying receptors for bacterial fimbriae that target interaction, internalization and translocation across microfold (M)-cells of the follicle-associated epithelium (FAE) overlying Peyer’s patches– the likely portal for initial invasion through the gut wall in intestinal inflammation and infection
(2) Assessing if E. coli found more commonly to be interacting with the inflamed and cancerous tissue of bowel can support an environment for a transformed/pre-cancerous cell in the bowel to flourish (e.g. oncogenic NFkappaB activation, Wnt pathway activation, escaping apoptosis, promotion of cell growth and angiogenesis).
(3) Identifying environmental modifiers of potential ‘genotoxic’ bacteria and their contribution to tumorigenesis in the bowel, and investigation of interventions to modulate microbial composition and prevent tumour development, including prebiotic, probiotic and ‘contrabiotic’ (dietary supplementation with soluble plant fibre) strategies.
(3) Characterisation of intestinal epithelial health, cell damage and shedding (and gap formation) following inflammatory and en(‘in’)vironmental stimuli and examining how key transcription factors (NFkappaB family and LRH-1) regulate this process, and whether bacteria can gain entry via these gaps and translocate to the systemic circulation.
(4) Understanding the role of interleukin-10 in epithelium and immune compartments of the intestine in health and inflammatory/infective disease
(5) Examining the therapeutic potential of probiotics and soluble dietary compounds in the treatment of infective diarrhoeas caused by Salmonella, Shigella, ETEC and C. difficile (developed from past work undertaken during BBSRC Link and CASE awards).
(6) Examining the bacteriome and mycobiome in gut inflammation, and investigating the impact of interventions (diet, cannabinoids, antobiotics, probiotics and prebiotics) to counter gut dysbiosis and disease. Also studying action of fungi on bacterial microbiota, and their interaction with phagocytic leucocytes.
(7) State-of-art imaging and ultrastructural analysis of key pathogen interactions with specific gut cells of infected intestinal epithelium in vivo and in 3-D organotypic/organoid ‘mini guts’ from mice, human and production animals, examining interactions of enteric bacterial pathogens, including enteric viruses and parasites, such as Cryptosporidium and Toxoplasma.
(8) Understanding inflammatory responses in cystic fibrosis (CF) gastrointestinal mucosae mediated by bacteria, bacterial PAMPS and extracellular vesicles, and examining potential for therapeutic intervention: CF-TRAILFINDER (TRAnslational Innovation hub for LiFecourse INfection anD Exacerbation Research)
(9) Investigating gut to brain axis - role of altered gut microbiota in neuroinflammatory/neurodegenerative Parkinson's disease
(10) Role of probiotics, prebiotics and dietary fibres in countering enteric pathogens in human and production animals