It is with immense sadness and shock that we share the passing of Adriana Romero-Olivares on April 28, 2026. Adriana was a brand-new Assistant Professor in the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at UC Riverside. Adriana joined UC Riverside on January 1, 2026, and was just beginning her research and teaching here.
Although her career was cut short, Dr. Romero-Olivares had a profound impact on her field of microbial ecology and on the many students and researchers she touched. She was widely known and appreciated for her kind and generous nature, her public advocacy to enhance equal access in higher education, and her deep enthusiasm for studying fungi in natural habitats, especially the deserts of the American Southwest. A core goal of her research was to study desert fungi to help plan for and mitigate the effects of global warming. At heart, Adriana was a soil microbiologist, and her research explored how fungi respond and adapt to a changing environment.
Dr. Romero-Olivares received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. She then earned her Ph.D. from UC Irvine. After multiple postdoctoral appointments, she joined New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, where she served for five years before coming to UC Riverside.
Adriana grew up in Mexico in a town known for growing oranges. The local baseball team is called the “Naranjeros” (roughly translating to “orange growers”), and she often shared that it felt meant to be for her to settle in Riverside.
The Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology is heartbroken by the sudden and unexpected loss of our colleague and friend, Adriana. We extend our deepest condolences to Dr. Romero-Olivares’ family, friends, colleagues, and all who knew her, especially her husband, Dr. Jovani Catalan Dibene, and her two young children.
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