Diego Felipe Leal Castro
- Associate Professor, Sociology
- Member of the Graduate Faculty
Contact
- (803) 777-3123
- Social Sciences, Rm. 400
- Tucson, AZ 85721
- dflc@arizona.edu
Biography
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 an expert in social network analysis.My work has been published in the American Journal of Sociology, Social Networks, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, PLoS ONE, and several other outlets. Among others, my research has been funded by national/federal organizations such as the Colombian Agency of Science (COLCIENCIAS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Cancer Institute (NCI - NIH), and the Defense Health Agency (DHA - MHSR). My collaborators and I have been awarded over $8 million in research grants.
Degrees
- Ph.D. Sociology
- University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States
- Three Essays on Network Dynamics and Liminality
- M.A. Political Science
- Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia
- The Dual Infrastructure of Protest Behavior in Bogotá: Transmilenio, Social Capital, and Collective Dissent in the Colombian Capital
- B.A. Political Science
- Universidad de Nacional de Colombia, Bogota, Colombia
- Social capital and Institutional Performance. The Case of Consejos Locales de Juventud in Bogotá
Work Experience
- University of South Carolina (2018 - 2022)
Awards
- Research Professorship
- College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Arizona, Spring 2026
- Research Leadership Institute Fellow
- U Arizona, Fall 2023
- James S. Coleman Outstanding Article Award
- Section on Rationality & Society, American Sociological Association., Spring 2023
- ORISE Faculty Research Fellow
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) - U.S. Army Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (USARIEM), Spring 2023
- Big Data Health Science Fellow
- Big Data Health Science Center, University of South Carolina, Fall 2022
- Summer Institute in Computational Social Science Fellow
- Duke University, Summer 2020
- BIGSSS Summer School in Computational Social Science Fellow
- Bremen University and Jacobs University, Summer 2019
- Young Scholar in Social Movements
- Center for The Study of Social Movements, University of Notre Dame, Spring 2017
- Clifford C. Clogg Scholar in Sociology
- ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research, University of Michigan, Summer 2015
- cum laude graduate
- Department of Political Science, Universidad de los Andes, Fall 2012
- "Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda" junior scholar fellow
- COLCIENCIAS (Colombian Department of Science & Technology), Spring 2011
- "Academic Excellence" scholarship
- Department of Political Science, Universidad de los Andes, Fall 2010
Interests
Teaching
social networks, social statistics, race and ethnicity, social simulation, health disparities
Research
international migration, minority health, smoking cessation, social networks, diffusion dynamics
Courses
2024-25 Courses
-
Health Disparities in Society
CHS 401 (Spring 2025) -
Health Disparities in Society
SOC 401 (Spring 2025) -
Independent Study
SOC 699 (Spring 2025) -
Dissertation
SOC 920 (Fall 2024) -
Independent Study
SOC 699 (Fall 2024) -
Quantitative Reasoning in Soc
SOC 375 (Fall 2024) -
Social Statistics I
SOC 570A (Fall 2024)
2023-24 Courses
-
Quantitative Reasoning in Soc
SOC 375 (Spring 2024) -
Race + Ethnic Relations
AFAS 467 (Spring 2024) -
Race + Ethnic Relations
ANTH 467 (Spring 2024) -
Race + Ethnic Relations
MAS 467 (Spring 2024) -
Race + Ethnic Relations
SOC 467 (Spring 2024) -
Quantitative Reasoning in Soc
SOC 375 (Fall 2023) -
Social Statistics I
SOC 570A (Fall 2023)
2022-23 Courses
-
Race + Ethnic Relations
AFAS 467 (Spring 2023) -
Race + Ethnic Relations
AIS 467 (Spring 2023) -
Race + Ethnic Relations
MAS 467 (Spring 2023) -
Race + Ethnic Relations
SOC 467 (Spring 2023) -
Research
SOC 900 (Spring 2023) -
Social Statistics I
SOC 570A (Fall 2022)
Scholarly Contributions
Books
- Leal, D. F., Roll, D., Robayo, M. C., Serrano, E., Gómez, J., & Camacho, C. (2014). The Latin American Diaspora in Spain, 1997–2007 (In Spanish). Bogota: Editorial Universidad del Rosario.More infoThis book describes the influx of migrants from Latin America going to Spain between 1997 and 2007. The book is centered around discussions on co-development, well-being and the implications of return migration.
Chapters
- Leal, D. F., Camacho, C., Bohórquez, Á., & López, S. (2012). The Return Migration of Colombians from Spain: A Social Capital Approach (In Spanish). In Research Results: Unal Researchers 2009-2010(pp 41-81). Bogota: Unibiblos.
Others
- Leal, D. F. (2013, August). The Dual Infrastructure of Protest Behavior in Bogotá: Transmilenio, Social Capital, and Collective Dissent in the Colombian Capital (In Spanish). Documentos dePolítica. https://www.diegoleal.info/files/CP_Doc22_01_04_13.pdf
