Alan Espinosa

Alan Espinosa is a PhD candidate in Nutritional Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He collaborates internationally with organizations such as the University of Oxford and the World Health Organization to study the ways our diet influences our health.

Alan’s research focuses on how eating patterns relate to heart disease across several countries, including the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany. As part of this work, he spent a semester at the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford.

He also leads a study with the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO-IARC) to better understand how diet and alcohol affect the risk of rare cancers, such as thyroid cancer. This research brings together long-term data from over 2.5 million people worldwide. 

Another part of Alan’s work explores whether eating artificial sweeteners (like those in diet sodas) is associated with obesity risk in children, adolescents, and adults. His findings have informed major guidelines from the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, and the World Health Organization. For his contributions, Alan received the 2024 Young Investigator in Nutrition Research Award from the American Society for Nutrition.

Alan also collaborates with the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition ‘Salvador Zubián’ in Mexico City, helping to turn research findings into better care for patients. In Yucatan, Mexico, he coordinates a Cochrane Affiliate Center, leading efforts to carefully review and summarize scientific studies on diet and long-term health through systematic reviews and meta-analyses. 

Outside of his academic work, Alan co-founded Grupo COR, a company that collaborates with nonprofits and government programs to reduce childhood anemia in Mexico. Grupo COR develops evidence-based fortified foods and delivers nutrition programs in rural and semi-rural communities. In 2023, Lawrence Bacow, former president of Harvard University, recognized Alan’s company as one of the top five startups in the Health & Lifestyle Track at the Harvard Innovation Labs.

Alan earned his Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from Universidad Marista de Mérida in Mexico and a Master of Science in Nutritional Epidemiology from Harvard University.