Nicholas Christakis, MD, MPH, PhD
Sterling Professor of Social and Natural ScienceCards
About
Research
Publications
2026
On the optimal integration of intelligent agents into network systems to steer cooperation
Fu F, Chen X, Christakis N. On the optimal integration of intelligent agents into network systems to steer cooperation. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2026, 123: e2537939123. PMID: 41838917, PMCID: PMC13011929, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2537939123.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsIntelligent agentsIntegration of intelligent agentsAlgorithm nodesAutomated agentsSocial dilemma gamesResilience of cooperationNetwork systemClosed-form analytical resultsOptimal alignmentSocial networksClosed-formDilemma gameCooperation levelNetworkEvolutionary stabilityEvolutionary graph theoryGraph theorySociotechnical networksNodesEvolutionary dynamicsCollective behaviorAnalytical resultsSocial goodModeling roles and trade-offs in multiplex networks
Nakis N, Lehmann S, Christakis N, Mørup M. Modeling roles and trade-offs in multiplex networks. Nature Communications 2026 PMID: 41794882, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-68896-1.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCountering the forgetting of novel health information with ‘social boosting’
Krishna V, Christakis N. Countering the forgetting of novel health information with ‘social boosting’. SSM - Population Health 2026, 33: 101902. PMID: 41737907, PMCID: PMC12927082, DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2026.101902.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchHow malicious AI swarms can threaten democracy
Schroeder D, Cha M, Baronchelli A, Bostrom N, Christakis N, Garcia D, Goldenberg A, Kyrychenko Y, Leyton-Brown K, Lutz N, Marcus G, Menczer F, Pennycook G, Rand D, Ressa M, Schweitzer F, Song D, Summerfield C, Tang A, Van Bavel J, van der Linden S, Kunst J. How malicious AI swarms can threaten democracy. Science 2026, 391: 354-357. PMID: 41570131, DOI: 10.1126/science.adz1697.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSocial networks and international migration in Honduran villages
Thomas L, Christakis N, Garip F. Social networks and international migration in Honduran villages. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2026, 123: e2505818122. PMID: 41481447, PMCID: PMC12773785, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2505818122.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsInternal migration decisionsInternal migration patternsSocial networksSocial network factorsInternational migrationMigration decisionsEconomic tiesMobility decisionsEffects of kinshipMobility trajectoriesMigration behaviorMigration patternsSocial statusLongitudinal dataSocial relationshipsNetwork factorsExplanatory powerVillageResource transmissionMigrationKinshipTransmission of informationTiesSocialComparison mechanism
2025
Characterization of gut microbiomes in rural Honduras reveals uncharacterized species and associations with human genetic variation
Beghini F, Brito I, Gerstein M, Christakis N. Characterization of gut microbiomes in rural Honduras reveals uncharacterized species and associations with human genetic variation. Cell Reports 2025, 45: 116724. PMID: 41420859, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.116724.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchHuman genetic variationGenetic variationGut microbiomeMicrobial compositionHost-microbiome associationsShotgun metagenomic sequencingHost genomic dataTaxonomic diversityEukaryotic microbiomeGut viromeGenomic dataViral taxaMetagenomic sequencingMicrobiome datasetsMetabolic potentialMicrobial diversityMicrobiome diversityMicrobiome researchHost microbiomeUncharacterized speciesMicrobiomePrevotella speciesSpeciesDiversityBlastocystis speciesNetwork-cycle motif participation is associated with individual and collective wealth in Honduran villages
Shridhar S, Lee S, Charette Y, Iosifidis G, Christakis N. Network-cycle motif participation is associated with individual and collective wealth in Honduran villages. Scientific Reports 2025, 15: 27680. PMID: 40731117, PMCID: PMC12307972, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-11087-7.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCognitive representations of social networks in isolated villages
Feltham E, Forastiere L, Christakis N. Cognitive representations of social networks in isolated villages. Nature Human Behaviour 2025, 9: 1737-1753. PMID: 40523958, PMCID: PMC12323711, DOI: 10.1038/s41562-025-02221-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchRealism Drives Interpersonal Reciprocity but Yields to AI-Assisted Egocentrism in a Coordination Experiment
Shirado H, Shimizu K, Christakis N, Kasahara S. Realism Drives Interpersonal Reciprocity but Yields to AI-Assisted Egocentrism in a Coordination Experiment. 2025, 1-21. DOI: 10.1145/3706598.3713371.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchDesign of HCI systemsArtificial intelligenceImproving user performanceVirtual reality technologyHCI systemUser performanceRobot carSocial applicationsEnhance realismEffects of realismVirtual carReality technologyInterpersonal coordinationHuman behaviorPhysical spaceDigital spaceTechnologyIntelligenceCarRealismCommunicationAssistanceGameSpaceCoordination
2024
Antidepressant use in spatial social networks
Lengyel B, Tóth G, Christakis N, Bíró A. Antidepressant use in spatial social networks. Science Advances 2024, 10: eadr0302. PMID: 39642229, PMCID: PMC11623294, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adr0302.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAntidepressant useSpatial social networksSocial networksAssociated with depression treatmentSmall-town residentsCohesiveness of social networksDiversity of social networksCohesive social networksMental health careDepression treatmentMental Well-BeingLocal communitiesMental healthEmpirical workWell-beingDistant communitiesDiverse networksHealth careLocal accessDistant placesCommunityIndividualsAntidepressantsYoung individualsTies
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
News
News
- May 06, 2024
Christakis Is Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
- March 24, 2021
Teaching Medicine to Machines: Using AI and Machine Learning to Improve Health Care
- June 06, 2020
Fourth Virtual Dean's Workshop Highlights Mathematical Modeling as a Valuable COVID-19 Tool
- June 05, 2020Source: Yale News
Yale App Hunala Aims to Be ‘Waze for Coronavirus’