Dr. Oscar Contreras Velasco
I did my Ph.D. in Sociology with a focus on Computational Methods at the University of California, Los Angeles. My research leverages machine learning, social network analysis, and advanced statistical methods to explore the intersection of organized crime, migration, and violence. I focus on how criminal networks evolve, the role of criminal organizations as non-state actors in producing violence, and the health risks migrants face while crossing contested territories. I also implement geo-statistical models to explore the geographies of labor migration in the United States. My research has produced several publications in peer-reviewed journals in Mexico and the United States such as Trends in Organized Crime and Revista Mexicana de Sociología (Mexican Sociological Review). I am a member of both the Mathematical Sociology Section and the Computational and Mathematical Approaches to Migration Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA).
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