Melody is a biophysicist and structural biologist who studies how cells communicate and interact with their surroundings through proteins on the cell surface. She is an Associate Professor in the Basic Sciences Division and the Scientific Director of the Electron Microscopy Shared Resource at Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle. She is also a strong advocate for scientific outreach and communication and is committed to making STEM opportunities accessible to people from diverse backgrounds.
Melody earned her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Michigan, where she conducted research in organic chemistry and biochemistry. She received her PhD in biophysics from The Scripps Research Institute in 2016 under the supervision of Bridget Carragher and Clinton S. Potter. During her graduate studies, she developed new methods in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM) to improve resolution and better characterize the structural heterogeneity of protein assemblies. She then completed her postdoctoral training with Yifan Cheng at the University of California, San Francisco, where she used cryoEM to study the structural dynamics of integrins and uncovered an unexpected mechanism of TGF-β activation.
Today, the Campbell Lab studies integrins, a family of cell-surface receptors that mediate cell adhesion and communication and play important roles in immunity, development, and disease. Combining cryoEM with biophysics, biochemistry, protein engineering, and cell biology, her lab investigates how integrins recognize diverse binding partners, undergo conformational changes, and transmit signals across the cell membrane. Our research spans the molecular mechanisms of immune-cell adhesion, the recognition of extracellular matrix proteins, the evolution of integrin ligand-binding specificity, and the ways antibodies and other molecules can modulate integrin function. Ultimately, the lab aims to understand how the structural and functional diversity of integrins enables cells to respond to their environments and how these insights might inform the development of new therapeutics.
Outside of the lab, Melody enjoys many typical Seattle activities, including hiking, eating salmon, drinking coffee, and talking about the gray skies. She also enjoys yoga, building IKEA furniture, paddleboarding, throwing pottery, cooking, and hijinks with her husband and two children.