In January 2002, the UNM HSC Clinical and Magnetic Resonance Research Center (CMRRC) officially partnered resources with the MIND Institute to develop a joint centralized imaging research center focused on better understanding the human brain and mind in health and disease.  The joint center emphasizes the study of the normal functions of the healthy brain such as memory and attention, as well as the study of the brain dysfunctions that characterize a wide variety of neurological and mental disorders.  To meet spacing needs, a 42,300 square foot expansion was required to house the MIND Institute, the UNM Mind Imaging Center and the UNM BRaIN Center.

In August of 2003, UNMHSC announced the naming of the facilities after Senator Pete Domenici and his wife, Nancy. "Senator and Mrs. Domenici have shown extraordinary devotion to advancing public health and fostering medical research, particularly in the area of mental illness," said Dr. R. Philip Eaton, the UNM vice president for health sciences at the time.  "They have never wavered in their passion to see that the best and most comprehensive mental health services are accessible to every American."

The MIND Institute was founded by Senator Domenici in 1999 as a non-profit organization whose mission was to forge partnerships between research universities, national laboratories, schools of medicine, and other scientific and research organizations across the country to further neurodiagnostic discovery.  Pete and Nancy Domenici Hall is located on the UNM north campus at 1101 Yale Blvd. NE.

Currently, The Mind Institute/Mind Research Network is a core of preeminent neuroscience researchers who are advancing today's diagnoses and tomorrow's treatments for mental illness, brain disease and brain injury.  The MRN houses fixed and mobile MRI capabilities, as well as magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) technologies, making it one of the most sophisticated imaging centers in the world.

The University of New Mexico Health Science Center is committed toward disease oriented research that particularly influences New Mexico’s population, including mental illness, alcoholism, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological diseases and brain injuries.  The next decade will produce the most rapid advances in the history of science and technology and UNM HSC must be poised to take advantage of this opportunity to better answer the questions of human health for our citizens.

Mental illnesses, brain diseases, and brain injuries, and those who suffer from them, are under-represented in science.  We can change that through research and education.  But, we cannot teach tomorrow's scientists with yesterday's technology.  The expansion of Domenici Hall brings together leading-edge neuroimaging equipment and researchers, establishing a strong platform for disease oriented, translational research.  It will provide researchers and health care professionals with cutting-edge technology, as well as boost New Mexico's economy through grant funded research.