Juan Fernando is a marine scientist from Cali, Colombia, whose passion for coral reefs began during a field trip to Gorgona Island while training as a biologist at the Universidad del Valle. He went on to study the functional diversity of coral reef fish communities in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and worked with the Coral Reef Ecology and Estuaries and Mangrove Ecology research groups, where he also explored mangrove-associated fish assemblages. He completed his MSc at KAUST in 2024, using nitrogen stable isotopes to trace nutrient pathways in reef-associated organisms, and is now a Research Specialist working on reef fish ecology, fisheries, and marine biodiversity in the Red Sea. His interests center on functional ecology, spatial distribution, and the connectivity among coastal ecosystems, and his current work also includes applying deep learning tools and remote sensing analyses to support reef monitoring.