Tessa Campbell
About me
Tessa is an SSMF Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Bryceson group investigating NK cell homeostasis and plasmacytoid dendritic cell function using cases of primary immunodeficiency.
Research
Tessa's interest in natural killer (NK) cells started during a bachelor's research internship at Karolinska Institutet. Upon returning to her home country of Australia she undertook her PhD in herpesvirology at the University of Sydney, initiating the first studies into varicella zoster virus evasion of NK cell activity. Intrigued by the life-threatening infections from herpesviruses suffered by NK cell deficient patients, she returned to Karolinska Institutet to pursue this line of research in the Bryceson group. In response to the demand of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tessa expanded her research profile to the antiviral type I IFN properties of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). Tessa is currently supported by an SSMF Postdoctoral Fellowship to improve diagnostics of primary immunodeficiencies and advance our understanding of human NK cell and pDC homeostasis to harness their potential in health and disease.
Teaching
During her postdoc and PhD, Tessa has been involved as a course lecturer, tutorial leader, and laboratory mentor at Karolinska Institutet and the University of Sydney. Her teaching profile covers bachelor, master's, and medical program courses on immunology, virology, and human biology.
Science communication
Tessa is an active science communicator in person and online on Twitter/X (@ScientistTess). In 2022 she was recognised as the Top Influencer at the meeting of The European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID2022) and was awarded free registration for the next society meeting. Tessa has also previously won the People's Choice Award (2018) for her Day of Immunology public engagement, presenting ‘NK cells: Ninjas of the immune system’. Since 2019 she has been involved in the Skype A Scientist program, skyping classrooms around the world to discuss science, as well as invitations to speak in person at several high school career and science events.
Articles
- Article: BLOOD. 2024;144(8):873-887
- Article: JOURNAL OF CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY. 2024;44(2):50
- Journal article: CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY. 2023;250:109476
- Article: JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE (JEM). 2022;219(7):e20220202
- Article: SCIENCE IMMUNOLOGY. 2021;6(62):eabl4348
- Article: SCIENCE IMMUNOLOGY. 2021;6(57):eabc9801
- Article: CELL. 2020;183(4):968-981.e7
- Article: JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY. 2019;93(22):e01140-e01119
- Article: PLOS PATHOGENS. 2019;15(6):e1007784
- Article: PLOS PATHOGENS. 2018;14(4):e1006999
- Article: INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 2017;85(10):e00069-e00017
- Article: JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY. 2015;89(15):7932-7943
All other publications
- Letter: JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY. 2021;148(1):96-98
- Review: FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY. 2020;11:1
- Editorial comment: JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE (JEM). 2019;216(6):1231-1233
Grants
- Decoding severe respiratory virus susceptibility in agingLoo and Hans Osterman Foundation for Medical Research30 June 2024 - 30 June 2025
- Deciphering viral infection susceptibility in people living with obesityClas Groschinsky's Memorial Foundation21 September 2023 - 21 September 2024
- Swedish Research Council1 January 2023 - 31 December 2026
- The Swedish Society for Medical Research1 January 2022 - 1 January 2025
Employments
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, 2021-2024
Degrees and Education
- PhD, Medicine, On interactions between alphaherpesviruses and natural killer cells, University of Sydney, 2019
- Bachelor of Science (Honours class I), Immunobiology and microbiology, Regulation of natural killer cell ligands and activity by varicella zoster virus & herpes simplex virus type 1, University of Sydney, 2013