Rate My Professor Matthew Campen

Matthew J. Campen, PhD, MSPH, is Regents' Professor and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy. He earned a BS in Biochemistry from Virginia Tech and a PhD in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Campen directs the New Mexico Center for Metals in Biology and Medicine and serves as director of the KL2 Mentored Career Development Program at the UNM Clinical and Translational Sciences Center. He is also deputy director and training core director for the NIEHS-funded UNM Metal Exposure and Toxicity Assessment on Tribal Lands in the Southwest Superfund Research Program Center.

Campen's research examines the cardiovascular and neurological health effects of inhaled pollutants, air pollution, and emerging contaminants including microplastics and nanoplastics. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and received awards such as the 2014 Society of Toxicology Achievement Award, the 2025 UNM Researcher Award, and multiple Society of Toxicology paper-of-the-year honors. In 2025, his team published findings in Nature Medicine on microplastic accumulation in human brain tissue, noting higher concentrations in individuals with dementia. Campen maintains leadership roles in national toxicology organizations and contributes to training programs focused on environmental health research.