Dr. Vega received his bachelor’s degree from Florida State University with majors in Physics and Biochemistry. He attended medical school at the University of South Florida, then stayed in Tampa for residency training in General Surgery (two years) and Anatomic and Clinical Pathology (four years). His fellowship year was also spent in Tampa at the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Department. He is board certified in Anatomic, Clinical, and Forensic Pathology and has been a licensed physician in the state of Florida since 1993.

Dr. Vega served as Associate Medical Examiner in Hillsborough County (Tampa), as well as Chief of Autopsy and Microbiology Services at the James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa, prior to his appointment in 2003 by Governor Jeb Bush to be Chief Medical Examiner of Florida’s Twelfth District. He has had gubernatorial appointments to Florida’s Medical Examiner Commission and the Governor’s Violent Crime and Drug Control Council. He is a long standing member of the Florida Association of Medical Examiners and has served as President-Elect (twice) and President (once), as well as working on and chairing numerous committees and regularly presenting at statewide educational conferences. He is an active member of the Florida Emergency Mortuary Response System (FEMORS) and the National Association of Medical Examiners. He holds clinical assistant professorships with both the University of South Florida College of Medicine/USF Health and the Florida State University College of Medicine.