Judith Campisi, PhD, FAACR: In Memoriam (1948–2024)
Authors: Marco Demaria
Journal: Cancer Research (2024)

The scientific community mourns the loss of Dr. Judith Campisi, known to everyone as Judy, a visionary scientist whose groundbreaking contributions to the field of aging and longevity have left an indelible mark on the landscape of medical research. Campisi's illustrious career was characterized by a relentless pursuit of understanding the complexities of aging and age-related diseases, particularly cancer; her pioneering work on cellular senescence has paved the way for transformative advancements in the quest for a longer and healthier lifespan.Campisi, born on March 12, 1948, on Long Island, New York, to an Italian-Polish family, exhibited a keen interest in biology from a young age. Her academic journey began at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, where she first earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and subsequently pursued a PhD in biochemistry, studying the process of fertilization in sea urchin eggs. These formative years laid the groundwork for her future endeavors, instilling in her a passion for unraveling the mysteries of cellular biology.She then moved to Boston to become a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of Arthur Pardee, who was focusing on cell-cycle regulation, particularly in cancer cells. In Pardee's lab, Campisi began to be intrigued by how cell senescence—originally described by Leonard Hayflick as the replicative lifespan of primary cells—could be regulated in normal conditions or in cancer. She quickly became independent and transitioned to assistant professorship, continuing her studies on how oncogenic mutations and growth factors can modulate cell-cycle progression. In the early 90s, Campisi decided to join the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). She immediately fell in love with the vibrant and culturally alternative Berkeley scene and made Berkeley her home for the remainder of her lifetime.At LBNL, she discovered several key regulators of cellular senescence, and she identified one of the most characteristic features of senescent cells: the overactivation of the senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal). The possibility to label senescent cells, either in culture or in tissues, using a simple colorimetric staining that measures SA-β-gal activity enabled the characterization of cell senescence and revolutionized the field. Following up on Hayflick's hypothesis that senescent cells accumulate with aging, her lab demonstrated that SA-β-gal–positive cells were overrepresented in tissues from older individuals. Part of her lab was also working on various models of accelerated aging syndromes (progeria), providing compelling evidence that cells and tissues with progeria showed senescence phenotypes. Studies on natural and accelerated aging also led Campisi to focus on placing cellular senescence as the missing link between cancer and aging. In early 2000, she published the first evidence of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and that the SASP could accelerate tumorigenesis. However, it was not until 2008 that the SASP was officially defined by three parallel studies, one of which was from Campisi's lab.The identification of the SASP suggested a potential causative role of senescent cells in driving cancer but also virtually any age-related dysfunctions and diseases. When I joined the Campisi lab, there were exciting projects aimed at developing models to test this hypothesis. At the time of my recruitment, Campisi was aiming to generate a genetic mouse model that would allow monitoring and inducible elimination of senescent cells in vivo. I was lucky enough that the lab at that time was not well acquainted with mouse work, while I had quite extensive experience. I remember the day I interviewed with her for a postdoctoral position to characterize senescence in mice and the moment she told me, "Everything you do in my lab will be yours if you decide to start your own laboratory. In any case, I don't understand mice!" In parallel, she worked on various screens to identify drugs that could either suppress the SASP (senomorphics) or eliminate senescent cells (senolytics), paving the way for the current vast area of senotherapeutics. Despite being reluctant to be involved with companies, she was convinced to be a founder of Cenexys, a small biotech company that later became Unity Biotechnology. She was not seeking personal gain, but instead she demanded that the company invest money in ongoing projects in her lab. Thanks to that investment, she expanded the characterization of cell senescence in different aging and disease contexts and strengthened her hypothesis of senescent cells being causative for age-related dysfunctions. In parallel, new models and tools allowed her lab to introduce the concept of heterogeneity in cellular senescence and to identify senescent pools with beneficial functions. In her last years, she was dedicated to expanding on these findings, warning that the current approach to targeting senescent cells was an excessive oversimplification.During her 40-year career, Campisi published over 400 articles, which were cited more than 100,000 times. Recognition for Campisi's contributions in advancing knowledge of the basic mechanisms of aging has been widespread. She received numerous accolades, including the Glenn Foundation Award from the Gerontological Society of America, the Irving Wright Award of Distinction from the American Federation for Aging Research, the Longevity Prize from the IPSEN Foundation, and the first International Prize in Natural Sciences and Medicine from the Olav Thon Foundation. Campisi's induction into the National Academy of Sciences in 2018 and election as a Fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research Academy in 2020 stand as a testament to the profound impact of her work on the scientific community.Beyond her groundbreaking research, Campisi was a fervent advocate for openness, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. She was never really interested in working in a silo and fighting to get her work published in top-tier journals. For her, it was important to always share findings from the lab at very early stages, well before the studies were published. I still remember endless conversations to convince her not to show my very preliminary data at conferences, but she never listened!She also played a pivotal role in fostering international partnerships, bringing together scientists from diverse backgrounds to pool their expertise in the pursuit of a common goal—unraveling aging and age-related mechanisms. She was constantly traveling and setting up new collaborations. Very often after being in a meeting somewhere in the world, Campisi arrived back to the lab on Mondays (the day of group meeting which she rarely missed throughout her career) and was excited about some new potential collaborations she discussed during her trip.Despite being often on the road and overloaded with many tasks, she was dedicated to spending time with her mentees. Her mentorship of young scientists was characterized by a nurturing spirit, inspiring a new generation to embark on their own independent journeys of discovery. She supported many people along the way, and she never turned down a request to help others get a position or a promotion. Even after leaving her lab, I was often in touch with her for all kinds of advice I needed for my developing career; she always found the time to listen and engage.In the wake of Campisi's passing, the scientific community reflects on the monumental legacy she leaves behind. Her contributions to the understanding of gerontology have not only advanced the frontiers of science but have also sparked a paradigm shift in how we perceive the aging process. Campisi's life serves as an inspiration for aspiring scientists, a testament to the transformative power of curiosity, dedication, and ethical responsibility in scientific inquiry. Her mantra was "The data are the data," highlighting her commitment to following scientific evidence in the most rigorous and unbiased manner possible. She often asserted that observations and validations are for science while beliefs for religion. Her mentees knew to never say to her that you believed your data meant something before having very strong evidence!As we bid farewell to this pioneering scientist, we celebrate the enduring impact of Campisi's work, recognizing that her legacy will continue to shape the trajectory of several fields of research for generations to come. To honor her memory, we should recommit ourselves to the pursuit of knowledge, guided by the same spirit of inquiry and passion for improving the human condition that defined Campisi's remarkable scientific journey. And we should strive to follow her style: working in collaboration with a smile on our faces, a glass of red wine in our hands, and the occasional dance.No disclosures were reported.