Neil Campbell began his college studies at Long Beach State College as a history major, but went on to a B.S. in Zoology after he discovered science through general education requirements. Following an M.A. in Zoology from U.C.L.A., Neil earned a Ph.D in Plant Biology from the University of California, Riverside. He has published numerous research articles on the structure and function of salt glands in halophytes and on the cellular basis of leaf movements in Mimosa and other legumes. His over 30 years of teaching in diverse environments include general biology courses at Cornell University, Pomona College, and San Bernardino Valley College, where, in 1986, he was the first recipient of the college's Outstanding Professor Award.

Neil is best known as the author of Biology, a textbook for biology majors that is now co-authored with Jane Reece. Neil is also the lead author of two non-majors textbooks, Biology: Concepts and Connections and Essential Biology. 

Each year, over 500,000 students worldwide use Campbell/Reece biology textbooks. In 1995, Neil co-founded Peregrine Publishers, creators of The Biology Place and The Chemistry Place web sites. He is now working on a high school biology textbook and web site that will be published in 2003. Neil is currently a visiting scholar in the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences at U.C. Riverside, which recognized him as the university's Distinguished Alumnus for 2001.