Orthopaedic Resident - Class of 2029

Jeff Dela Cruz was born and raised in the legendary city of Jacksonville, FL (DUUUVAL!). He has lived in Gainesville since 2015 on his way to becoming a Triple Gator! He was raised a Gators fan and attended the University of Florida for both undergraduate as well as medical school; he is excited to continue his training here at UF for orthopaedic surgery residency. Outside of orthopaedics, Jeff's interests and passions include football, music, and construction/home renovation. For better or worse, he is a die-hard Jacksonville Jaguars fan and has stuck by the team's side in the bad times and the bad times. He has also been a Gators football season ticketholder since 2015 and loves to tailgate for and attend Gator games with his wife who is a fellow Gator grad.

Jeff is a lover of music and has played in a cover band with his brother and two of their friends since he was in 6th grade. He continues to perform music locally in Gainesville on occasion and has gotten to perform several times with his former med school classmate and now orthopaedic surgery co-resident, Kevin Hao! Jeff has a passion for construction and home renovation projects as inspired by his late father-in-law, and he and his wife love to take on big projects around their home here in Gainesville.

Jeff recently got married to his wife, Alex, in May of 2024; Jeff met her during freshman year of undergraduate at UF, and she is also on her way to Triple Gator-dom as she nears the end of her PhD program in Public Health at UF. Jeff is a proud dog-dad of two here in Gainesville and has another family dog back home in Jacksonville. Jeff's older brother and biggest role model, Dr. Jan Dela Cruz, is completing his final year of Family Medicine residency, currently serving as the chief resident of his program at Ascension St. Vincent's in Jacksonville. Jeff's parents are both originally from the Philippines, and he is very proud of his Filipino culture (especially the food!). Jeff is excited to continue this next chapter of his journey in orthopaedic surgery residency at UF, and he hopes to pursue a career in Hand & Upper Extremity Surgery.