Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences (S4)

Guixing Wei is a Senior Research Scientist in Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences (S4) at Brown University. Wei's research focuses on health geography, spatial epidemiology, and the development of novel methods in health- and demography-related applications. The main research questions Wei has been trying to answer include: (1). how to conceptualize, measure, and model geographically relevant variables, (2). how to represent and model a spatial pattern and identify the areas of elevated risk, (3) how geographic risk factors along with socioeconomic factors influence adverse health outcomes (e.g., skin cancer).

Wei's current research projects include the development of Bayesian hierarchical spatial models to identify the underlying risk factors for health and income inequality in low- and middle-income countries, the understanding of the spatial pattern of emergency medical service (EMS) calls in Rhode Island, and the investigation of the impact of tanning beds to Melanoma incidence rates. Wei is also a highly collaborative researcher. Wei also helped secure an NSF grant to establish "The Center for Mobility Analysis for Pandemic Prevention Strategies (MAPPS)” in 2022 and has been leading the Thrust 1 team to develop a comprehensive mobility and social mixing database.