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Dr. Hsuan-Wei "Wayne" Lee is a mathematical modeler and computational social scientist whose research unites epidemic theory, evolutionary game theory, network science, and artificial intelligence to address some of the most pressing challenges in public health. At the core of his work is a fundamental question: how do human decisions shape, and are shaped by, the spread of disease, addiction, and social norms? His epidemic-behavioral modeling has revealed critical phase transitions that determine whether interventions succeed or cascade into failure, while his game-theoretic work on cooperation, punishment, and social dilemmas has uncovered surprising mechanisms by which well-designed incentive structures can rescue collective welfare even when individual rationality threatens to undermine it. More recently, his integration of reinforcement learning and agent-based simulation has pushed this program into genuinely adaptive territory, where agents and networks co-evolve in response to one another, yielding insights into vaccination uptake, opioid use dynamics, and the resilience of cooperation under realistic conditions of uncertainty and heterogeneity.
Beyond the mathematical core, Dr. Lee is deeply interested in how people actually behave within the social environments that shape their health. His network science work has mapped how trust, help-seeking, and peer influence flow through substance use communities and indigenous support networks, with direct implications for community-based intervention design. His opinion dynamics research investigates how individuals update their beliefs under social pressure, how political bots exploit those processes to deepen polarization, and how competing narratives gain or lose traction as network structure itself shifts in response. He and his collaborators have examined how environmental conditions alter the behavioral calculus of disease transmission, how personal and social factors drive or suppress vaccination decisions, and how institutional contexts such as civil society regimes and transitional justice shape health, solidarity, and collective action. His publication record spans mathematics, statistical physics, computational social science, and public health, reflecting a conviction that the most consequential questions in population health demand both rigorous theory and genuine disciplinary translation.
Journal Articles
Journal Articles
[40] Zijian Wang, Zikang Wang, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "Message Timing Outperforms Message Intensity for Cost-Effective Epidemic Control," Applied Mathematical Modelling, accepted (2026).
[39] Gayathry R. Menon, Sayooj Aby Jose, Asaph Young Chun, Anuwat Jirawattanapanit, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "Measuring the Impact of Climate Factors and Air Quality on COVID-19 Transmission Dynamics: A Tale of Two Cities in Pandemic Preparedness," BMC Public Health, accepted, online first (2026).
[38] Hsin-Yu Hung and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "Donor Motivation and Civil Society Regimes From a Cross-Cultural and Institutional Perspective," Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, accepted, online first, 2026:1-16 (2026).
[37] Hsiu-Chi Lu and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "Modeling Competing Narratives in Adaptive Networks: How Social Pressure and Network Dynamics Drive Tipping and Persistences," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, accepted (2026).
[36] Wei-Yang Liu and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "Dissipative Quantum Dynamics in Static Networks with Different Topologies," New Journal of Physics, 28 034505 (2026).
[35] Yi-Ning Weng and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "Q-Learning–Driven Adaptive Rewiring for Cooperative Control in Heterogeneous Networks," Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, Volume 169, 114024 (2026).
[34] Ming-Jui Yeh, Ching Kuan, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "Transitional Justice and Health, Happiness, and Solidarity: An Analysis of the 2020 National Survey in Taiwan," International Journal of Health Services, accepted (2026).
[33] Chi-Chin Hsiao and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "Personal Cancer Worry and Systemic Cancer Concern: Pathways to Health Behaviors via Social Media and Emotional Well-Being," Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 178, 108918 (2026).
[32] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Yi-Hsuan Huang, and Nishant Malik, "Adaptive Network Dynamics and Behavioral Contagion in Multi-State Drug Use Propagation," Chaos, Solitons and Fractals: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, and Nonequilibrium and Complex Phenomena, Volume 202, 117462 (2026).
[31] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, "Context-Sensitive Norm Enforcement Reduces Sanctioning Costs in Spatial Public Goods Games," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Volume 508, 129626 (2026).
[30] Hsuan-Wei Lee and Vincent Cheng-Sheng Li, "Phase Boundaries and Critical Transitions in Coupled Epidemic–Behavioral Systems," Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, Volume 87, 179 (2025).
[29] Hsuan-Wei Lee and Chen-Wei Xu, "Strategy Configuration Determines Interaction Patterns in Partner-Switching Evolutionary Games," Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena, Volume 483, 134971 (2025).
[28] Ruey-An Shiu and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "Shaping Network Structures in Evolutionary Games for Stronger Cooperation," Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 481(2322), 20250346 (2025).
[27] Hsuan-Wei Lee and Yi-Ning Weng, "Granular Q-Learning Adaptation Boosts Collective Welfare in Multi-Agent Prisoner’s Dilemma," Chaos, Solitons and Fractals: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, and Nonequilibrium and Complex Phenomena, Volume 199, 116642 (2025).
[26] Zehua Si, Takayuki Ito, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "Evolution of Cooperation in Spatial Public Goods Games with Migration and Interactive Diversity," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Volume 506, 129544 (2025).
[25] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Yen-Ping Chang, and Yen-Sheng Chiang, "A Theoretical Analysis of How Multiple Leadership and Flattened Status Structures Affect Cooperation in Task Groups," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Volume 28(3) (2025).
[24] Chih-Han Leng, Böckenholt Ulf, Hsuan-Wei Lee, and Grace Yao, "An Item Response Model for Rating Relational Data," Psychometrika, 90(3), 1067-1096 (2025).
[23] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Szu-Ping Chen, and Feng Shi, "Enhancing Cooperation in Dynamic Networks through Reinforcement-Learning-Based Rewiring Strategies," New Journal of Physics, 27 013025 (2025).
[22] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Pei-Chin Lu, Hsiang-Chuan Sha, and Hsini Huang, "Triadic Balance and Network Evolution: Predictive Modeling with Signed Networks," Scientific Reports, 15:2544 (2025).
[21] Dennis E. McChargue, Bilal Khan, Jessica Phelps, Patrick Duryea, Kimberly A. Tyler, Arthur Andrews, Ellie Reznicek, Lucy Napper, Mohamed Saad, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "The Feasibility of Utilizing the Open Dynamic Interaction Network (ODIN) App to Assess rEMA Data Across 30 Days among Those Recovering from Alcohol Use Disorders," Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, Volume 14, 100305 (2025).
[20] Hsiu-Chi Lu and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "Agents of Discord: Modeling the Impact of Political Bots on Opinion Polarization in Social Networks," Social Science Computer Review, 43(4), 750-772 (2025).
[19] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, "Suppressing Defection by Increasing Temptation: the Impact of Smart Cooperators on a Social Dilemma Situation," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Volume 479, 128864 (2024).
[18] Yao-Tai Li, Man-Lin Chen, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "Science Communication during the Pandemic: Examining Health Professionals' COVID-19 Related Tweets," Social Science and Medicine, Volume 347, 116748 (2024).
[17] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, "Supporting Punishment via Taxation in a Structured Population," Chaos, Solitons and Fractals: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, and Nonequilibrium and Complex Phenomena, Volume 178, 114385 (2024).
[16] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, "Restoring Spatial Cooperation with Myopic Agents in a Three-Strategy Social Dilemma," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Volume 458, 128226 (2023).
[15] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, "Group-size Dependent Synergy in Heterogeneous Populations," Chaos, Solitons and Fractals: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, and Nonequilibrium and Complex Phenomena, Volume 167, 113055 (2023).
[14] Cheng-Han Leng, Chi-Shiun Tsai, Ta-Chien Chan, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, "Quality of Life in Multiple Scenarios: The Impact of Work Mode and Social Contact Quantity," Frontiers in Psychology, 14:1018415 (2023).
[13] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, "When Costly Migration Helps to Improve Cooperation," Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, 32(9), 093103 (2022).
[12] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Cheng-Han Leng, and Ta-Chien Chan, "Determinants of Personal Vaccination Hesitancy before and after the Mid-2021 COVID-19 Outbreak in Taiwan," PLOS ONE 17.7: e0270349 (2022).
[11] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, "Mercenary Punishment in Structured Populations," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Volume 417, 126797 (2022).
[10] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Ming-Yi Chang, Wan-Yu Chou, Jing-Shiang Hwang, and Yang-Chih Fu, "From Indirect to Direct Contacts on Facebook: A Big-data Approach to the Making of Triadic Network Closure," Canadian Review of Sociology, 59(2), 207–227 (2022).
[9] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, “Small Fraction of Selective Cooperators Can Elevate General Wellbeing Significantly,” Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Volume 582, 126222 (2021).
[8] Yang-Chih Fu and Hsuan-Wei Lee, “Daily Contacts Under Quarantine amid Limited Spread of COVID-19 in Taiwan,” International Journal of Sociology, Volume 50, Issue 5, Pages 434–444 (2020).
[7] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Nishant Malik, Feng Shi, and Peter J. Mucha, "Social Clustering in Epidemic Spread on Coevolving Networks," Physical Review E, 99, 062301 (2019).
[6] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Miranda Melson, Jerreed Ivanich, Patrick Habecker, G. Robin Gauthier, Lisa Wexler, Bilal Khan, and Kirk Dombrowski, "Mapping the Structure of Perceptions in Helping Networks of Alaska Natives," PLOS ONE 13.11: e0204343 (2018).
[5] Bilal Khan, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Courtney R. Thrash, and Kirk Dombrowski, "Agency and Social Constraint among Victims of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: A Method for Measuring Free Will," Social Science Research, Volume 76, Pages 144–156 (2018).
[4] Bilal Khan, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Ian Fellows, and Kirk Dombrowski, "One-step Estimation of Networked Population Size: Respondent-Driven Capture-Recapture with Anonymity," PLOS ONE 13.4: e0195959 (2018).
[3] Jake Bowers, Bruce A. Desmarais, Mark Frederickson, Nahomi Ichino, Hsuan-Wei Lee, and Simi Wang, "Models, Methods, and Network Topology: Experimental Design for the Study of Interference," Social Networks, Volume 54, Pages 196–208 (2018).
[2] Hsuan-Wei Lee, Nishant Malik, and Peter J. Mucha, "Evolutionary Prisoner's Dilemma Games Coevolving on Adaptive Networks," Journal of Complex Networks, Volume 6, Issue 1, Pages 1–23 (2018).
[1] Nishant Malik, Feng Shi, Hsuan-Wei Lee, and Peter J. Mucha, "Transitivity Reinforcement in the Coevolving Voter Model," Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science 26.12: 123112 (2016).
Message Timing Outperforms Message Intensity for Cost-Effective Epidemic Control, Zijian Wang, Zikang Wang, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, Applied Mathematical Modelling, accepted (2026).
Measuring the Impact of Climate Factors and Air Quality on COVID-19 Transmission Dynamics: A Tale of Two Cities in Pandemic Preparedness, Gayathry R. Menon, Sayooj Aby Jose, Asaph Young Chun, Anuwat Jirawattanapanit, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, BMC Public Health, accepted, online first (2026).
Donor Motivation and Civil Society Regimes From a Cross-Cultural and Institutional Perspective, Hsin-Yu Hung and Hsuan-Wei Lee, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, accepted, online first, 2026:1-16. doi:10.1017/S095787652600046X (2026).
Modeling Competing Narratives in Adaptive Networks: How Social Pressure and Network Dynamics Drive Tipping and Persistences, Hsiu-Chi Lu and Hsuan-Wei Lee, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, accepted (2026).
Dissipative Quantum Dynamics in Static Networks with Different Topologies, Wei-Yang Liu and Hsuan-Wei Lee, New Journal of Physics, 28 034505 (2026).
Q-Learning–Driven Adaptive Rewiring for Cooperative Control in Heterogeneous Networks, Yi-Ning Weng and Hsuan-Wei Lee, Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, Volume 169, 114024 (2026).
Transitional Justice and Health, Happiness, and Solidarity: An Analysis of the 2020 National Survey in Taiwan, Ming-Jui Yeh, Ching Kuan, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, International Journal of Health Services, accepted, online first (2026).
Personal Cancer Worry and Systemic Cancer Concern: Pathways to Health Behaviors via Social Media and Emotional Well-Being, Chi-Chin Hsiao and Hsuan-Wei Lee, Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 178, 108918 (2026).
Adaptive Network Dynamics and Behavioral Contagion in Multi-State Drug Use Propagation, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Yi-Hsuan Huang, and Nishant Malik, Chaos, Solitons and Fractals: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, and Nonequilibrium and Complex Phenomena, Volume 202, 117462 (2026).
Context-Sensitive Norm Enforcement Reduces Sanctioning Costs in Spatial Public Goods Games, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, Applied Mathematics and Computation, Volume 508, 129626 (2026).
Phase Boundaries and Critical Transitions in Coupled Epidemic–Behavioral Systems, Hsuan-Wei Lee and Vincent Cheng-Sheng Li, Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, Volume 87, 179 (2025).
Strategy Configuration Determines Interaction Patterns in Partner-Switching Evolutionary Games, Hsuan-Wei Lee and Chen-Wei Xu, Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena, Volume 483, 134971 (2025).
Shaping Network Structures in Evolutionary Games for Stronger Cooperation, Ruey-An Shiu and Hsuan-Wei Lee, Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 481(2322), 20250346 (2025).
Granular Q-Learning Adaptation Boosts Collective Welfare in Multi-Agent Prisoner’s Dilemma, Hsuan-Wei Lee and Yi-Ning Weng, Chaos, Solitons and Fractals: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, and Nonequilibrium and Complex Phenomena, Volume 199, 116642 (2025).
Evolution of Cooperation in Spatial Public Goods Games with Migration and Interactive Diversity, Zehua Si, Takayuki Ito, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, Applied Mathematics and Computation, Volume 506, 129544 (2025).
A Theoretical Analysis of How Multiple Leadership and Flattened Status Structures Affect Cooperation in Task Groups, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Yen-Ping Chang, and Yen-Sheng Chiang, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Volume 28 (3) (2025).
An Item Response Model for Rating Relational Data, Chih-Han Leng, Böckenholt Ulf, Hsuan-Wei Lee, and Grace Yao, Psychometrika, 90(3), 1067-1096 (2025).
Enhancing Cooperation in Dynamic Networks through Reinforcement-Learning-Based Rewiring Strategies, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Szu-Ping Chen, and Feng Shi, New Journal of Physics, 27 013025 (2025).
Triadic Balance and Network Evolution: Predictive Modeling with Signed Networks, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Pei-Chin Lu, Hsiang-Chuan Sha, and Hsini Huang, Scientific Reports, 15:2544 (2025).
The Feasibility of Utilizing the Open Dynamic Interaction Network (ODIN) App to Assess rEMA Data across 30 Days among Those Recovering from Alcohol Use Disorders, Dennis E. McChargue, Bilal Khan, Jessica Phelps, Patrick Duryea, Kimberly A. Tyler, Arthur Andrews, Ellie Reznicek, Lucy Napper, Mohamed Saad, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, Volume 14, 100305 (2025).
Agents of Discord: Modeling the Impact of Political Bots on Opinion Polarization in Social Networks, Hsiu-Chi Lu and Hsuan-Wei Lee, Social Science Computer Review, 43(4), 750-772 (2025).
Suppressing Defection by Increasing Temptation: the Impact of Smart Cooperators on a Social Dilemma Situation, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, Applied Mathematics and Computation, Volume 479, 128864 (2024).
Science Communication during the Pandemic: Examining Health Professionals' COVID-19 Related Tweets, Yao-Tai Li, Man-Lin Chen, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, Social Science and Medicine, Volume 347, 116748 (2024).
Supporting Punishment via Taxation in a Structured Population, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, Chaos, Solitons, and Fractals: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, and Nonequilibrium and Complex Phenomena, Volume 178, 114385 (2024).
Restoring Spatial Cooperation with Myopic Agents in a Three-Strategy Social Dilemma, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, Applied Mathematics and Computation, Volume 458, 128226 (2023).
Group-size Dependent Synergy in Heterogeneous Populations, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, Chaos, Solitons and Fractals: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, and Nonequilibrium and Complex Phenomena, Volume 167, 113055 (2023).
Quality of Life in Multiple Scenarios: The Impact of Work Mode and Social Contact Quantity, Cheng-Han Leng, Chi-Shiun Tsai, Ta-Chien Chan, and Hsuan-Wei Lee, Frontiers in Psychology, 14:1018415 (2023).
When Costly Migration Helps to Improve Cooperation, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, 32(9), 093103 (2022).
Determinants of Personal Vaccination Hesitancy before and after the Mid-2021 COVID-19 Outbreak in Taiwan, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Cheng-Han Leng, and Ta-Chien Chan, PLOS ONE, 17.7: e0270349 (2022).
Mercenary Punishment in Structured Populations, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, Applied Mathematics and Computation, Volume 417, 126797 (2022).
From Indirect to Direct Contacts on Facebook: A Big-data Approach to the Making of Triadic Network Closure, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Ming-Yi Chang, Wan-Yu Chou, Jing-Shiang Hwang, and Yang-Chih Fu, Canadian Review of Sociology, 59(2), 207-227 (2022).
Small Fraction of Selective Cooperators Can Elevate General Wellbeing Significantly, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Colin Cleveland, and Attila Szolnoki, Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Volume 582, 126222 (2021).
Daily Contacts Under Quarantine amid Limited Spread of COVID-19 in Taiwan, Yang-Chih Fu and Hsuan-Wei Lee, International Journal of Sociology, Volume 50, Issue 5, Pages 434–444 (2020).
Social Clustering in Epidemic Spread on Coevolving Networks, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Nishant Malik, Feng Shi, and Peter J. Mucha, Physical Review E, 99, 062301 (2019).
Mapping the Structure of Perceptions in Helping Networks of Alaska Natives, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Miranda Melson, Jerreed Ivanich, Patrick Habecker, G. Robin Gauthier, Lisa Wexler, Bilal Khan, and Kirk Dombrowski, PLOS ONE, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204343 (2018).
Agency and Social Constraint among Victims of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: A Method for Measuring Free Will, Bilal Khan, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Courtney R. Thrash, and Kirk Dombrowski, Social Science Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2018.06.007 (2018).
One-step Estimation of Networked Population Size: Respondent-Driven Capture-Recapture with Anonymity, Bilal Khan, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Ian Fellows, and Kirk Dombrowski, PLOS ONE, 13(4), e0195959 (2018).
Models, Methods and Network Topology: Experimental Design for the Study of Interference, Jake Bowers, Bruce A. Desmarais, Mark Frederickson, Nahomi Ichino, Hsuan-Wei Lee, and Simi Wang, Social Networks, Volume 54, Pages 196-208 (2018).
Evolutionary prisoner’s dilemma games coevolving on adaptive networks, Hsuan-Wei Lee, Nishant Malik, and Peter J. Mucha, Journal of Complex Networks, DOI: 10.1093/comnet/cnx018 (2018).
Transitivity Reinforcement in the Coevolving Voter Model, Nishant Malik, Feng Shi, Hsuan-Wei Lee, and Peter J. Mucha, Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, 26.12: 123112 (2016).
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