Biography

Jeff Junior Nerestant graduated from the University of Central Florida in May 2019 with his bachelor’s degree in Biology and a minor in Psychology.  He is a certified peer educator, former Florida State University STEM tutor/mentor of Jones High School students, former Valencia Wellness Ambassador/Student Leader. As a student and a leader, he always strives to maintain a high standard and sets up lofty goals. Jeff is passionate about biological sciences and health sciences. He also dreams about becoming a physician one day. He wants to be a life saver as well as discover treatments for some current incurable diseases. Jeff strongly believes in continuous learning and improvements. Furthermore, he embraces diversity and equity. Currently, because of his intellectual curiosity as well as his interest in evolutionary biology and biodiversity, he is participating in eDNA surveys under the direction of Dr. Gaither in the Gaither Lab at UCF. Since the start of June 2019, he has been contributing to a genetic code database that is designed with different fish species from the Atlantic Ocean, particularly the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.