John Campbell

Office Address: 483 Gilmer Hall

Education

B.S., Biological Psychology, The College of William and Mary, 2002
Ph.D., Neuroscience, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2012
Postdoctoral, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 2012-2018

Research Interests

Organisms must eat to survive but the consumption, storage, and use of energy, collectively known as energy balance, is a complex process. The brain plays a central role in this process by monitoring the organism’s energy needs and storage and adjusting its energy intake and expenditure accordingly. However, the relevant neuron populations, and the circuits they form, are largely unknown. Our lab is therefore working to identify these neuron populations, their circuits and specific roles in energy balance. First, we identify the neuron populations using high-throughput single-cell transcriptomics and unsupervised clustering analysis. This analysis reveals molecular cell types and their genetic markers that we then use to gain genetic access to each cell type, map its synaptic circuitry, and monitor and manipulate the activity of its specific circuits in vivo. These functional studies help to link genetically defined neuron populations with specific behaviors and physiological processes, ultimately leading to a mechanistic understanding of how the brain controls energy balance. Our previous work generated a comprehensive “census” of cell types in the hypothalamus, visual system, and brainstem and generated hypotheses about their functions, which we are currently investigating. We are also examining distinct neural circuits that work through the vagus nerve to control digestion and metabolism, including heart rate and insulin secretion. Together these studies are shedding light on how brain controls energy balance by revealing the cell types, signals, and circuits that make it possible.

Selected Publications

Jalil M, MacMillan MK, Coverdell TC, Gutierrez VA, Crook ME, Heinrichs TJ, Dever A, Cox KS, Stornetta DS, Wang YB, Schwalbe DC, Singh A, VanderVoort L, Boychuk CR, Abbott SBG, Campbell JN. Molecular Disambiguation of Heart Rate Control by the Nucleus Ambiguus. J Neurosci. 2026 Sep 14:e0398262026. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0398-26.2026. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42736025.

Liu Y, McDaniel JA, Chen C, Yang L, Kipcak A, Savier EL, Erisir A, Cang J, Campbell JN. Co-Conservation of synaptic gene expression and circuitry in collicular neurons. Nat Commun. 2025 Oct 15;16(1):9146. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-64204-5. PMID: 41093847; PMCID: PMC12528736.

Webster AN, Becker JJ, Li C, Schwalbe DC, Kerspern D, Karolczak EO, Bundon CB, Onoharigho RA, Crook M, Jalil M, Godschall EN, Dame EG, Dawer A, Belmont-Rausch DM, Pers TH, Lutas A, Habib N, Güler AD, Krashes MJ, Campbell JN. Molecular Connectomics Reveals a Glucagon-Like Peptide 1-Sensitive Neural Circuit for Satiety. Nat Metab 6, 2354–2373 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-024-01168-8. PMID: 39627618; PMCID: PMC12186539

Schwalbe DC, Stornetta DS, Abraham-Fan RJ, Souza GMPR, Jalil M, Crook ME, Campbell JN, Abbott SBG. Molecular Organization of Autonomic, Respiratory, and Spinally-Projecting Neurons in the Mouse Ventrolateral Medulla. J Neurosci. 2024 Jul 31;44(31):e2211232024. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2211-23.2024. PMID: 38918066; PMCID: PMC11293450.

Coverdell TC, Abraham-Fan RJ, Wu C, Abbott SBG, Campbell JN. Genetic encoding of an esophageal motor circuit. Cell Rep. 2022 Jun 14;39(11):110962. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110962. PMID: 35705034.

Tao J, Campbell JN, Tsai LT, Wu C, Liberles SD, Lowell BB2. Highly selective brain-to-gut communication via genetically defined vagus neurons. Neuron. 2021 Jul 7;109(13):2106-2115.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.05.004. Epub 2021 Jun 1. PMID: 34077742; PMCID: PMC8273126.