Nicholas Christakis, MD, MPH, PhD
Sterling Professor of Social and Natural ScienceCards
About
Research
Publications
2026
Social network structure and depression by gender in rural Honduras: a cross-sectional study
Lee S, Papamichalis M, Raygoza-Cortez K, Christakis N, de la Rosa A. Social network structure and depression by gender in rural Honduras: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open 2026, 16: e108285. PMID: 42285574, PMCID: PMC13288701, DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-108285.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsHigher odds of depressionOdds of depressionHigher oddsAssociated with depressionSymptoms of depressionDepressive symptomsPostpartum depressionHigher odds of depressive symptomsOdds of depressive symptomsPostpartum depressive symptomsCross-sectional studyFace-to-faceCensus-based studyPostpartum parentsRural HondurasPsychological healthStructural positionVillage networkRegion of HondurasPosition of individualsDepressionVillage residentsDyadic tiesFace-to-face relationshipsSocial network positionThe Influence “Paradox”: When More Network Ties Lead to Less Change
Hsiao Y, Christakis N. The Influence “Paradox”: When More Network Ties Lead to Less Change. American Sociological Review 2026, 91: 464-489. DOI: 10.1177/00031224261438845.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSocial tiesRandomized field trialWell-connected individualsCollective actionEconomic interventionsDiffusion of behaviorsCore concernsNetwork paradoxesNetwork-based targetingEmpirical analysisTiesSocial networksHealth practicesInnovation adoptionPublic healthSocial reinforcementParadoxBehavioral interventionsIndividualsInnovationHondurasLeadershipInterventionIdeasMarketMetagenomic polymorphic toxin effector and immunity profiling predicts microbiome development and disease-related dysbiosis
Schroer H, Beghini F, Garay J, Christakis N, Bosch D. Metagenomic polymorphic toxin effector and immunity profiling predicts microbiome development and disease-related dysbiosis. MSystems 2026, 11: e00305-26. PMID: 42171373, PMCID: PMC13288982, DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00305-26.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMicrobiome developmentSecretion systemMetagenomic dataBeta diversityGut microbiomeMarker gene approachHuman gut microbiomeFecal metagenomic dataGut microbiome developmentExchange of strainsNon-genetic inheritanceInterbacterial weaponsToxin effectorsDynamic associationHuman metagenomesBacterial taxonomyBioinformatics toolsGene approachInterbacterial antagonismDiversity increaseHuman disease statesDisease statesImmune genesMicrobiomeMicrobiome alterationsMeasuring intellectual humility through situated behavior: An alternative to dispositional self-reports
Rudnev M, Rodriguez de la Rosa A, Barrett R, Christakis N, Grossmann I. Measuring intellectual humility through situated behavior: An alternative to dispositional self-reports. Behavior Research Methods 2026, 58: 150. PMID: 42082861, DOI: 10.3758/s13428-026-03016-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsIntellectual humilitySelf-regulatory constructsMeasures of metacognitionDispositional measuresSelf-viewsWithin-personSituational effectsSelf-ReportSituational variablesEpistemic contextsSpecific behaviorsGender differencesDiverse populationsHumilityAbstract tendenciesPartner statusViewing behaviorInteractionist frameworkPersonsOverclaimingMetacognitionBehaviorSocial dynamicsIntellectualsParticipantsOn 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, 17: 3622. PMID: 41794882, PMCID: PMC13096192, 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 species
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’
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Nov 202611Wednesday
Everyone Nicholas Christakis, MD, MPH, PhD - Anthony Kronman, PhD - Howard Forman, MD, MBA, FACR