Personal Interests:
I was born and raised in Rio Piedras (a neighborhood in the capital of San Juan, Puerto Rico). I went to two elementary schools: Academia Bautista de Puerto Nuevo (a private Baptist school) and then after my father’s first heart attack and subsequent unemployment I attended the public school. In 1980, my family moved from the city to a working class barrio of Guaynabo. Thus, my schooling and social life were primarily centered around Rio Piedras, Old San Juan and Guaynabo.

I was fascinated by the natural sciences since very early on, and participated in several summer internship training programs and research projects offered by the local universities. The material covered in each program varied greatly, from chemical toxicity and microbiological pathogens in potable water (Universidad Metropolitana Ana G. Mendez: 1989-1990), to cholera pathogens in seafood products (Universidad Interamericana: 1991), to neurotransmitters in epilepsy Universidad de Puerto Rico- School of Medicine (1992). The tasks, of course were very simple, but the exposure to scientific method was fundamental to what later became one of my passions—research.

In 1991, my father passed away at the age of 54 after his second heart attack. Like many Puerto Rican adult males, lack of exercise and overweight were major contributing factors to his heart failure. He was a Korean War veteran, pastor and policeman. My mother, Elizabeth, works two part-time jobs both as a custodian for a church and a private school, and she lives in Puerto Rico with my sister Mariella and my nephews Jean Luis and Geovanni.

I got married in 2004 to Angelica Bocour (alumni from the Population and Family Health Department at Mailman School of Public Health) who works in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Academic Interests:
I studied agricultural sciences with a major in animal sciences in the Universidad de Puerto Rico – Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez. My specialty was on the quality improvement of meat cattle farms in the rural sectors of the island. Although I loved cows, horses, farmers and agriculture, I became quite passionate about the extracurricular activities I had been involved with since my first year of high school (1989). I served as a peer educator in a small program for the prevention of unintended pregnancies and HIV/AIDS. During my first week in college, I joined the Grupo de Estudiantes de Apoyo del Recinto (GEAR), a student organization under the Program for Health Promotion and Prevention, a component of the Dean’s Office of Student Affairs. This group organized information dissemination activities, as well as workshops, short plays, and support groups every semester in topics ranging from effective communication with peers to HIV transmission and safer sex negotiation. We worked with other college students as well as with high schools in the region. In 1990, the program was awarded a FIPSE (Funds for Improvement of Post-Secondary Education) grant for the establishment of a coalition for the prevention of alcohol use and other drugs. This grant supported initiatives that promoted the idea that alcohol and other drugs were not necessary to have fun (our student group was not familiar with the Harm Reduction model). La Cueva del Tarzan (Tarzan’s cave) became my first public health experience from conceptualization to implementation. We developed a coalition of more than 100 student organizations that work closely with us on this project. This project was centered on socialization theory and community mobilization. La Cueva del Tarzan ended; GEAR stills exists today, and more than 14 years later is actively working on health promotion. These experiences moved me to decide to pursue a formal education in public health.

I wanted to specialize in health education but I was rejected by 8 of the ten schools to which I applied (my GRE scores were horrible and I did not have a formal background in education). I decided to pursue a Masters in Public Health in general public health at the University of Connecticut (I crossed the bridge to the other side) thinking that I would work with Latinos living in Hartford. Even though I had the opportunity to do that through projects with the Institute for Community Research (under the direction of Dr. Jay Schensul), my primary area of research became the sexual health of Sri Lankan male youth who were bisexually active. This was part of a larger sexuality research project conducted by the University of Connecticut and the University of Peradeniya (principal investigator: Dr. Steve Schensul).

After completing my MPH, I thought that I wanted to be a social epidemiologist with a focus on sexual health. Thus, I applied and was rejected from almost every single one of the epidemiology doctoral programs I applied to (I assumed that my GRA scores were too low, even after retaking them three times). By that time, I was frustrated with the idea of pursuing a doctoral program and I was quite happy working in the field of public health (at that time I was in Hidalgo, Mexico). Meeting two excellent professors (Dr. Marysol Asencio and Dr. Richard Parker) from Columbia University renewed my hope for a doctoral education. I was accepted into the DrPH program in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. To fund my studies, I received an internal scholarship (Community Scholars Program), and was awarded a three-year minority supplement to work with Dr. Alex Carballo-Dieguez (at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Columbia University) on a research project testing a sexual health intervention for Latino men who have sex with men. I also worked as a field interviewer for a randomized clinical trial of an HIV prevention intervention with severely mentally ill men (principal investigator: Dr. Ezra Susser). Working full-time to pay the bills, and studying full-time, I completed the program in three years. My dissertation was on the sexual organization of bisexually-active Latino men and it was awarded distinction as an outstanding dissertation.

From 2001 to 2003, I did my postdoctoral fellowship at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies under the mentorship of Dr. Richard Parker. From 2003 to 2005, I was appointed Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences. I am currently Assistant Professor in SMS. I coordinate the Health Promotion MPH track and teach the course Promoting Sexual Health for students in the sexuality and health MPH track.

What are your specific research interests?
My work focuses on three themes: sexuality, masculinity and culture. Right now I am working on an ethnographic project that explores the relationship between Hip Hop culture and ideologies of masculinity, and how this relationship shapes the sexuality and racial/ethnic identity of youth. Another focal area for me is the analysis of sexual desire and sexual diversity and its relationship to sexual health. I work mostly with young and adult Latino men in New York. At the international level, I collaborate on projects in Brazil. One of the studies that we are conducting focuses on analyzing the responses of religious organizations to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Brazil. I am also part of the International Working Group for Sexuality and Social Policy.

Community Interests:
I am involved in multiple departmental committees. I am the liaison for a new school wide initiative called the “Healthy Mondays” campaign. I also collaborate with Bronx AIDS Services on a project to help young men who have sex with men access AIDS care. In addition, I’m involved in small projects with Gay Men’s Health Crisis, Hispanics AIDS Forum and Scenarios USA (all community-based organizations in New York).

Why did you choose MSPH?
I was interested in working with the research and policy projects conducted at the Center for Gender, Sexuality and Health. Plus, the colleagues and the students in the department are great to work with.