Wesley Cota

Wesley Cota is a researcher at Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) in Brazil, specializing in epidemiology, network science, and complex systems. He completed his Doctor Scientiae (Physics) in September 2020 with a thesis titled "Spreading phenomena on complex networks and social systems." His research primarily focuses on epidemic modeling, particularly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, with an emphasis on Brazilian data and contexts.

Dr. Cota's research interests span epidemiology, network science, complex systems, computational physics, and epidemic modeling with a particular focus on human mobility patterns and disease transmission dynamics. His work combines theoretical approaches with practical data analysis, developing models to understand and predict epidemic spread across different geographical scales and network structures. He has made significant contributions to understanding metapopulation dynamics, vaccine prioritization strategies, and the impact of mobility restrictions during pandemics.

His publication record shows a strong trajectory in mathematical epidemiology and network science, with recent work heavily focused on the COVID-19 pandemic. His research demonstrates expertise in developing and applying mathematical models to real-world epidemic data, particularly at municipal and regional levels in Brazil. His work bridges theoretical physics concepts with practical public health applications, creating tools for epidemic monitoring and intervention planning.

Dr. Cota is the principal maintainer of the "covid19br" GitHub repository, which provides comprehensive, municipality-level data on COVID-19 cases and deaths in Brazil. This dataset, referenced in academic publications with DOI 10.1590/SciELOPreprints.362, has become a critical resource for researchers and policymakers studying the pandemic in Brazil. The project represents a significant contribution to open science and data transparency during a global health crisis.

His research is conducted through a postdoctoral project titled "Monitoramento contínuo da COVID-19 no Brasil: coleta, análise e modelagem de dados epidêmicos" (Continuous monitoring of COVID-19 in Brazil: collection, analysis, and modeling of epidemic data) at Universidade Federal de Viçosa, funded by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior).