UNM hosts 2025 Fulbright Mexico Studies Chair Jesús A. Fernández

The University of New Mexico (UNM) is hosting Professor Jesús A. Fernández, a visiting scholar from the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua (UACH), as the 2025 Fulbright Mexico Studies Chair.

The position is part of a multi-year agreement between UNM's Latin American and Iberian Institute (LAII) and COMEXUS, the U.S.-Mexico Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange, through the Fulbright-García Robles program. The initiative promotes academic and cultural collaboration between the two countries.

"We are delighted to partner with COMEXUS and UNM's Latin American and Iberian Institute, Museum of Southwestern Biology, and Biology Department to host Fulbright scholar, Dr. Jesús A. Fernández, as the Mexico Studies Chair." said Joseph Cook, Distinguished and Regents Professor of Biology and curator of mammals at the Museum of Southwestern Biology. "His expertise on biodiversity along the international border is particularly valuable during a time of accelerating environmental change."

Fernández holds a doctorate in biology from Louisiana State University and has taught and conducted research on the biota of northwestern Mexico at UACH since 2013. His research focuses on the ecology and evolutionary biology of wild mammals in the montane regions of northern Mexico.

At UNM, he is collaborating with the Museum of Southwestern Biology and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science to examine the biogeographic and evolutionary history of sky island ecosystems in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. His work uses molecular genetics to explore how climate shifts in the Late Quaternary contributed to mammalian diversity and endemism in these high-elevation habitats.

His research also addresses conservation challenges, including habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, and emerging wildlife diseases.

This semester, Fernández is teaching a course in the Department of Biology titled "Transboundary Sky Island Biology," which explores the biogeography of the U.S.-Mexico border region. The course uses molecular and ecological methods to examine biodiversity, host-parasite dynamics, and long-term conservation strategies.

Fernández and Cook, in partnership with the LAII, are organizing an international panel on transboundary mammal conservation, scheduled for early November.