As a formerly incarcerated scholar, Noel Vest, PhD, is an advocate for social justice issues and public policy concerning substance use disorder recovery and prison reentry. His research interests include mental health, substance use disorders, poverty, social justice, addiction recovery, and pain. He was recently awarded a K01 early investigator award from NIDA to study collegiate recovery programs through an implementation science lens.
Dr Vest's educational journey has spanned from a college-in-prison program through the College of Southern Nevada to Washington State and Stanford Universities.
In the U.S., roughly 1.5 million adults are incarcerated, the most per capita in the world. Less than 2% are enrolled in postsecondary classes.
Read more about the prison-to-STEM pipeline on NOVA.
From leading his own projects to mentoring aspiring academics, cutting edge research underpins Dr. Vest's work.
In addition to research and advocacy, Dr. Vest is an engaging and sought after keynote speaker and presenter.
To request Dr. Vest as a keynote speaker at your next event, please fill out this form.
More than 48 million Americans report that they have experienced challenges with drugs or alcohol within the past year. As overdose deaths appear to be rising again after a short-lived decline in 2024, improving and expanding recovery services that help people avoid relapsing remains a public health priority. Noel Vest, assistant professor of community health sciences, joined a […]
For many students in addiction recovery, college is not just about education—it is about survival. The transition to higher education presents immense challenges for students recovering from substance use disorders (SUDs), as campus cultures often normalize drinking and drug use while offering limited support for those seeking to maintain sobriety or reduce substance use. Collegiate […]
Leaving incarceration presents a unique set of challenges to individuals as they resume their lives in the general community. Persistent barriers to healthcare, stable housing, employment, and social support are often accompanied by the longstanding stigmas associated with serving time in prison. A recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found another concerning problem among this […]
A majority of young adults are willing to come to the aid of someone experiencing an overdose, but few of them know how to administer naloxone, according to a new study by School of Public Health researchers. Published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, the study examined opioid overdose knowledge among college students across the United States […]
Community organizer and poet Elizabeth Barker was an untenured instructor at Boston University in the early 1970s when she brought a group of BU students to the medium-security prison MCI Norfolk to compete against men who had created their own version of the popular College Bowl quiz show on radio and TV while incarcerated there. The students […]
For formerly incarcerated adults, a college education can lead to well-paying jobs that provide stability and reduce chances of recidivism. As more than half of incarcerated adults also experience substance use disorder, research is needed to fill a dearth in knowledge about the unique challenges and needs of formerly incarcerated students in recovery while enrolled in college. A […]
By Noel Vest Published December 23, 2023 “You’re gonna have to overdose to get treatment in here.” Though I had remained clean for two years in the county jail while awaiting trial, I was informed that overdose was the only option I had to obtain the lifesaving treatment I needed when I arrived at High […]
In third grade, Noel Vest took a test to get into his school’s gifted program, but fell short of qualifying. That setback shattered Vest’s confidence and self-esteem, and his ambitious attitude dissolved into personal and academic apathy throughout the rest of his childhood. What eight-year-old Vest didn’t know at the time was that he would go on to develop many gifts, including a mastery […]