Rate My Professor Teresa Feria-Arroyo

Dr. Teresa Feria-Arroyo is a Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), serving in Biology faculty roles that encompass teaching, research, and leadership. She holds the positions of Director of the School of Integrative Biological and Chemical Sciences and Associate Dean for Faculty Success in the College of Sciences, as well as UT System Distinguished Teaching Professor. A native of Mexico City, she earned her B.S. in Biology with honors in 1997 and M.S. in Animal Biology in 2001 from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She completed her Ph.D. in Biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2007, followed by postdoctoral appointments at the Missouri Botanical Garden's Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development and UNAM. Feria-Arroyo joined UTRGV's Biology Department (formerly University of Texas-Pan American) as an Assistant Professor in 2008, advancing to full professor. She previously served as UTRGV Provost Fellow and Office for Sustainability Fellow, chaired the Women's Faculty Network (2018-2019), and co-founded the Women in Science Network in 2022.

Her research utilizes Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Species Distribution Models to investigate the current and future distributions of endangered, invasive, and vector-borne disease species, focusing on global change ecology, conservation biology, food security, habitat restoration, and sustainability via her Ferialab Biosafety Laboratory. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses including Global Change Ecology, Conservation Biology, and Biological Problems. With 61 publications and over 950 citations, key works include "Potential Effects of Climate Change on the Geographic Distribution of the Endangered Plant Species Manihot walkerae" (2024), "Towards Conserving Crop Wild Relatives along the Texas–Mexico Border: The Case of Manihot walkerae" (2022), and "Comparing machine learning, deep learning, and reinforcement learning performance in Culex pipiens predictive modeling" (2025, PLOS ONE). Feria-Arroyo has mentored approximately 103 high school, undergraduate, graduate students, and new faculty, enabling research presentations, publications, graduate admissions, and STEM careers; she founded the “¡Juntos al Éxito! - Empowering Excellence Program.” Major honors include the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM, 2025), AAHHE Outstanding Support of Hispanic Issues Award (2025), UT System Regent’s Outstanding Teaching Award (2020), induction into the UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers (2023), Provost’s International Studies Award (2011), College of Science and Mathematics Excellence in Teaching Award (2012), USDA Kika de la Garza Science Fellowship, Fred W. and Frances H. Rusteberg Fellowship (2018), and membership in Mexico’s National Researchers System.