Luis Miguel Mestre, Ph.D., MS, is a T32 Post Doctoral Fellow at The Consultation Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine. Luis got his Ph.D. in Epidemiology with a minor in Data Science from Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington; his doctoral training was on quantitative epidemiology, obesity, aging, cigarette smoking, and health disparities. As an undergraduate student, Luis received a scholarship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) due to his skills in mathematics, which motivated him to complete his bachelor’s degree in biomathematics. Later, Luis pursued a master’s in mathematical Statistics from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. During this time, Luis experienced Hurricane Maria; this experience changed his educational trajectory to focus on having a more robust public health and fairer society through quantitative research; this motivated him to pursue a degree in epidemiology. Years later, as a pre-doctoral fellow, Luis obtained two grants, one from the National Institute of Aging (NIA) about obesity and aging and another from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) about substance use disorders. Luis’s current work as a post-doctoral fellow is in substance use, especially cigarette smoking and polysubstance use, LGBTQ+ Health, health disparities, and the association between substance use and obesity from a psychosocial perspective. Recent projects include polysubstance use cessation in marginalized groups such as the LGBTQ+ community, clinical trials intervention in smoking cessation using mobile technology, understanding the association between substance use and obesity, and mental health illnesses such as eating disorders and substance use.
Luis is committed to social justice and advocacy for more representation of underrepresented populations. As a doctoral student, Luis had multiple leadership positions, such as Student Government representative of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Indiana University and elected positions such as the representative of the School of Public Health-Bloomington of the Graduate School Strategic Planning Committee or Fee Review Membership. In these service positions, Luis advocated for more inclusive policies or decisions, such as more funding for organizations that promote food security for college students, health education campaigns within campus (including but not limited to educating students about PrEP, counseling services, and gender-affirming care), and to help students from underrepresented backgrounds to have safe spaces. Shortly after Luis started his work as a postdoc at Yale, he joined the Yale Postdoctoral Association (YPA), enrolling in multiple programs such as the Buddy Program and Mentorship Program and participating in events such as Pint of Postdocs. Luis joined the Belonging committee during the Fall of 2023, where he has worked on connecting and developing a community with different institutions, organizations, or offices within the Yale community related to LGBTQ+ affairs to ensure LGBTQ+ postdocs can feel themselves. Luis is also a member of the Professional Development Committee since Spring 2024, which helps organize the Pint of Postdocs event. Within the School of Medicine, Luis is also a member of the Diversity and Inclusion committee at The Consultation Center, where he collaborates with other peers to promote education and training about diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Luis’s life goal is to help ensure that those needing healthcare can access it, especially those from underrepresented groups, through research, and service. Luis’s hobbies are strength exercises and outdoor activities such as hiking and road trips.
Contact: luis.mestre@yale.edu