Nicholas Christakis, MD, Phd, MPH









alt="Connected: The Surprising Power of Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives (cover)"

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Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD, MPH, is an internist and social scientist who conducts research on social factors that affect health, health care, and longevity. He is Professor of Medical Sociology in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School; Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences; and an Attending Physician (with an emphasis on palliative medicine) in the Department of Medicine at the Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He is the Master of Pforzheimer House in Harvard College.

Dr. Christakis' current work is principally concerned with health and social networks. This work takes seriously the contention that because people are inter-connected, their health is inter-connected. This work explores two aspects of social networks: the process by which they form ("connection") and the way they operate to influence behavior ("contagion"). Related work examines the health benefits of marriage and the consequences of spousal illness and widowhood. Other ongoing investigations consider the effects of neighborhoods on people's health, the biodemographic determinants of longevity, and the genetic bases for human behaviors. His past work has examined the accuracy and role of prognosis in medicine and ways of improving end-of-life care.

Along with his long-time collaborator, James Fowler, Dr. Christakis has authored a general-audience book on social networks: Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives.  Click here for more information about the book, and click here to order the book.  

QUICK LINKS

Click here for a paper on the genetic basis of Social Networks.
J.H. Fowler, C.T. Dawes, and N.A. Christakis, "Model of Genetic Variation in Human Social Networks," PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences  106(6): 1720-1724 (February 2009)
Click here for a link to the paper at PNAS, and for editorial commentary, click here.
Click here for the online supplementary information and here for online supplementary appendix.

Click here for a prior paper on the spread of obesity in social networks.
N.A. Christakis and J.H. Fowler, "The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network Over 32 Years," New England Journal of Medicine  357(4): 370-379 (July 2007)
Click here for the obesity in social networks online supplement.
Click here for a narrated animation showing the spread of obesity within the
network, available at the New England Journal of Medicine.
Click here to view the original animation (without narration). Select "Save link as..." for a downloadable copy (PC users right click link, Mac users click and hold).

Click here for a prior paper on the spread of smoking behavior in social networks.
N.A. Christakis and J.H. Fowler, "The Collective Dynamics of Smoking in a Large Social Network," New England Journal of Medicine  358(21): 2249-2258 (May 2008)
Click here for the smoking in social networks online supplement.
Click here for a narrated animation showing the spread of smoking behavior within the network, available at the New England Journal of Medicine.
Click here to view the original animation (without narration). Select "Save link as..." for a downloadable copy (PC users right click link, Mac users click and hold).

Click here for a prior paper on the spread of happiness in social networks.
J.H. Fowler and N.A. Christakis, "The Dynamic Spread of Happiness in a Large Social Network: Longitudinal Analysis Over 20 Years in the Framingham Heart Study," British Medical Journal  2008; 337: a2338 (doi:10.1136/bmj.a2338) (December 2008)
Click here for the happiness in social networks online supplement.
Click here for a link to the paper at BMJ.com, and, for editorial commentary at the BMJ, click here and here.

© 2008 Nicholas Christakis