I'm an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona. I was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia.
I'm broadly interested in the analysis of social network dynamics. I focus on the social network aspects of relational inequalities, mostly as they manifest in the emergence and evolution of international migration systems and minority health outcomes. I use a variety of methods, from focus groups to agent-based computational models.
I'm currently working on: uncovering the network structure of international migration flows, modeling network and cultural brokerage and their impact on diffusion dynamics, and on developing network-based health communication interventions to increase smoking cessation among Latino/as.
My work has been published in the American Journal of Sociology, Social Networks, Network Science, PLoS ONE, and several other outlets. My research has been funded by the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute – NIH.
© 2022. Diego F. Leal