Nicholas A. Christakis
Yale University
Nicholas A. Christakis is an American and Greek sociologist and physician known for his research on social networks and on the social, economic, biological, and evolutionary determinants of human welfare. He is the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University, where he directs the Human Nature Lab. He is also the codirector of the Yale Institute for Network Science.
Read biography ↓Biography, research & contributions
Nicholas A. Christakis is an American and Greek sociologist and physician known for his research on social networks and on the social, economic, biological, and evolutionary determinants of human welfare. He is the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University, where he directs the Human Nature Lab. He is also the codirector of the Yale Institute for Network Science.
Affiliation
Yale University
Top Publications
- The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years (2007) - 5,096 citations
- Computational Social Science (2009) - 3,362 citations
- The Collective Dynamics of Smoking in a Large Social Network (2008) - 2,433 citations
- Response rates to mail surveys published in medical journals (1997) - 2,131 citations
- Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study (2008) - 2,011 citations
At a glance
- Full name
- Nicholas A. Christakis
- ORCID
- 0000-0001-5547-1086
- OpenAlex ID
- https://openalex.org/A5010495671
Research interests
- Complex Network Analysis Techniques, Health disparities and outcomes, Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues, Palliative and Oncologic Care, Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
Research topics
Education
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Selected research & further reading
A curated reading list, not a ranking by citation count. References use DOI metadata, matching public scholarly records or authoritative lecture sources.
See the source-linked reading and original works in the research guide above.
Citation & publication trends
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Source: OpenAlex · Retrieved 2026-10-08. Metrics are database-specific and are not a scientific ranking.
Most-cited linked publications
Publications matched across ORCID and OpenAlex. Citation counts are source-specific.
- The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years ↗2007 · New England Journal of Medicine5,096OpenAlex citations
- Computational Social Science ↗2009 · Science3,362OpenAlex citations
- The Collective Dynamics of Smoking in a Large Social Network ↗2008 · New England Journal of Medicine2,433OpenAlex citations
- Response rates to mail surveys published in medical journals ↗1997 · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology2,131OpenAlex citations
- 2,011OpenAlex citations
Recent linked publications
Publications matched across ORCID and OpenAlex. Citation counts are source-specific.
- The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years ↗2007 · New England Journal of Medicine
- Computational Social Science ↗2009 · Science
- The Collective Dynamics of Smoking in a Large Social Network ↗2008 · New England Journal of Medicine
- Response rates to mail surveys published in medical journals ↗1997 · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Journals published in
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Related publishers
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Institutions
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Previous institutions
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Awards & honors
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Career timeline
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Co-authors
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Education & career institution links
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Sign in to claim this profileSources & data information
Editorial review: 2026-10-08 · Last data update: 2026-10-08 00:01:52
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