Campbell began working at
Nature in 1979 and was appointed physical sciences editor in 1982. After leaving the journal in 1988 to start the publication
Physics World, the membership magazine of the Institute of Physics, he returned to
Nature as Editor-in-Chief in 1995, succeeding
John Maddox. In that role, he headed a team of about 90 editorial staff around the world. He took direct editorial responsibility for the content of ''Nature's'' editorials, writing some of them. He was the seventh editor-in-chief since the journal was launched in 1869. He was also editor-in-chief of Nature publications. In that role he was responsible for ensuring that the quality and integrity appropriate to the Nature name are maintained, for overseeing editorial policies, and for ensuring that appropriate individuals are appointed as chief editors of Nature journals. He was succeeded by
Magdalena Skipper in his role as editor-in-chief in 2018. He was a visiting scholar at
Rockefeller University in spring 2008. Campbell was appointed a member of an independent panel established in February 2010 by the
University of East Anglia to investigate the
controversy surrounding the publication of emails sent by staff at the university's
Climatic Research Unit (CRU). Due to publicity about a 2009 interview with Chinese State Radio during which he expressed support for the CRU scientists, he resigned just hours after the panel was launched. Campbell was a founding member and, from 2015 to 2019, chair of the board of trustees of the research-funding charity
MQ: Transforming Mental Health. He was a member of the
World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on
Mental Health. and the
impact factor.
Awards and honours Campbell was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS) an honorary Doctor of Science by the University of Bristol in 2008, and an honorary fellowship of Queen Mary, University of London, in 2009. He was also elected an Honorary Fellow of
Clare Hall, Cambridge. In the
2015 Birthday Honours, he was appointed
Knight Bachelor for services to Science. He has been an Honorary Professor
Peking Union Medical College since 2009. In 2019, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Association of British Science Writers. He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society in 2024. ==Personal life==