She completed her PhD at the Australian National University in 1982 where she was the first female graduate student to study in the department of Applied Mathematics.
[1][2][3][4] Her PhD thesis, titled Gradient refractive index optics and image quality in the rat eye, was completed under the supervision of Austin Hughes, Colin Pask and Allan Snyder.
Over time her work has taken on a multidisciplinary approach, in which she blends physics and biology as a way to develop and improve disease diagnostics.
[6] In 2016, along with colleagues at the University of British Columbia, the University of Rochester, Massachusetts General Hospital, Vivocore Inc. and InterVivo Solutions, it was announced that Campbell had developed a method for detecting amyloid proteins in the eye, biomarkers associated with Alzheimer's disease, which may allow for the detection of the diseases prior to symptom presentation.
[7][8] Campbell explained in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that: "The ability to detect amyloid deposits in the retina prior to disease symptoms may be an essential tool for the development of preventative strategies for Alzheimer's and other dementias.