Nicholas A. Christakis
Sociologist and physician
Nicholas A. Christakis is a sociologist and physician who holds a named professorship at Yale University. He studies social networks and human welfare.
2 summaries 44 min of listening
American Born 1962 in United States, United States
About Nicholas A. Christakis
Nicholas A. Christakis was born in 1962 and is an American and Greek sociologist and physician. His research looks at social networks and at the social, economic, biological and evolutionary factors that shape human welfare. At Yale University he holds a Sterling professorship in social and natural science, directs the Human Nature Lab and codirects the Yale Institute for Network Science. Before Yale, he researched and taught for many years at Harvard University and the University of Chicago. He also spent years as a hospice doctor serving disadvantaged communities in Chicago and Boston, until 2011. His lab's projects have included studying the foundations of friendship, working with villages in Honduras, India and Uganda on public health practices, and building artificial intelligence to help people with collective action. In 2009, Time magazine included him among its 100 most influential people worldwide. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2006 and the National Academy of Sciences in 2024. His books in our catalog include Apollo’s Arrow and Blueprint.