UNM Health Sciences celebrates a year of groundbreaking research and health care expansion in 2025

At The University of New Mexico's Health Sciences Center (HSC), 2025 was a year of groundbreaking research.

Making up the bulk of the top 10 most-viewed stories on the HSC Newsroom were articles detailing the efforts of the HSC's bold and accomplished researchers. In various studies, researchers discovered microplastics in the human brain, tested potentially life-changing vaccines, and developed new treatments to fight pre-cancers.

HSC also celebrated the completion of its mammoth, high-tech Critical Care Tower, which now offers around-the-clock emergency and intensive care services to New Mexico's adult population.

Click on the headlines below to read the full top 10 stories in UNM HSC's 2025 Year-in-Review.

1. UNM Researchers Find Alarmingly High Levels of Microplastics in Human Brains - and Concentrations are Growing Over Time
University of New Mexico Health Sciences researchers have found microplastics in human brains, and at much higher concentrations than in other organs. Worse, the plastic accumulation appears to be growing over time, having increased by 50% over just the past eight years.

2. UNM Scientists Discover How Nanoparticles of Toxic Metal Used in MRI Scans Infiltrate Human Tissue
University of New Mexico researchers studying the health risks posed by gadolinium, a toxic rare earth metal used in MRI scans, have found that oxalic acid, a molecule found in many foods, can generate nanoparticles of the metal in human tissues.

3. UNM Researchers Receive Funding to Launch Clinical Trial of a New Alzheimer's Vaccine
University of New Mexico researchers have received funding to launch an early-stage clinical trial of a vaccine engineered to clear pathological tau protein from the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimer's dementia.

4. UNM Researchers Plan Clinical Trials to Test Vaccine Against Alzheimer's-Promoting Tau Protein
University of New Mexico Health Sciences researchers hope to launch human clinical trials in their quest for a vaccine to prevent the buildup of pathological tau - a protein in the brain associated with Alzheimer's dementia.

5. Cancer Interception: The First HPV Antiviral Treatment Fights Pre-Cancers
Like a football team disrupting the opponent's play, Michelle Ozbun, Ph.D., and Jason McConville, Ph.D., at The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center are designing a gel to prevent cancers caused by human papillomaviruses (HPVs).

6. Cup Contamination: Research Reveals Alarming Microplastic Levels in Beverages
Recent studies have uncovered evidence that disposable beverage containers release thousands of plastic particles into hot beverages, adding to concerns about plastic accumulation in human tissues.

7. UNM Researchers Find Live Hantavirus is Carried in More Than 30 New Mexico Small Mammal Species
University of New Mexico researchers have found that more than 30 species of rodent and other small mammals endemic to the Southwest carry hantavirus, including ground squirrels, chipmunks, gophers, rats and even house mice.

8. Albuquerque The Magazine Recognizes Nine UNM Health 'Top Docs'
UNM Health honors nine physicians recognized as 2025 Top Docs by Albuquerque The Magazine. This prestigious recognition highlights the city's most trusted health care professionals.

9. UNM Scientist Devises New Way to Identify Microplastics in Brain Tissue From Dementia Patients
Last December, University of New Mexico neuropathologist Elaine Bearer, MD, Ph.D., was methodically studying brain tissue samples from two deceased dementia patients when she noticed something peculiar. It was the prologue to a scientific detective story.

10. What Departments Are Moving into UNM Hospital's Top-of-the-Line Critical Care Tower?
The University of New Mexico Hospital's new Critical Care Tower (CCT) opened on Oct. 5, 2025, becoming home to a host of clinical departments designed to work in harmony to deliver cutting-edge care to New Mexicans. This article features a tour of the CCT's ground level and six floors, with photos.