Anika Liv Christensen
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Scientific Research
As a biologist, Anika Liv Christensen pursues the relationship between the environment and human health through an evolutionary lens. She is affiliated with the Capellini Lab at Harvard University's Department of Human Evolutionary Biology and the Initiative for the Science of the Human Past at Harvard. Previously, she has been affiliated with the Madagascar-based public health nonprofit Pivot. Current research involves the evolution and development of the human hip and pelvis, as well as the effect of climate change on modern day bubonic plague outbreaks in Madagascar.
Bachelor's Honors Thesis
Crisis Causing Crisis: The Effect of Global Warming on Modern Day Plague Outbreaks in Madagascar.
This project investigated how Yersinia pestis (plague)'s pCD1 virulence plasmid mutates in response to high ambient temperatures. Results suggest that the bacteria mutates to become more virulent when maximum daily temperatures consistently surpass 26°C, which is the internal temperature of the flea. This, in conjunction with a recent insurgence in the typically rare pneumonic plague, suggests that the bacteria may be evolving to infect humans while residing in the soil instead of their usual flea hosts.
Funded by the Harvard Global Health Institute, advised by the Capellini Lab and the Science of the Human Past Initiative, and completed in collaboration with Pivot.
Presentations
"Crisis Causing Crisis: The Effect of Global Warming on Modern Day Plague Outbreaks in Madagascar;" Human Biology, Behavior, and Evolution Senior Thesis Showcase; Harvard University; April 2026
"Crisis Causing Crisis: The Effect of Global Warming on Modern Day Plague Outbreaks in Madagascar," Harvard Global Health Institute Student Research Showcase, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, April 2026
“Accelerating the Risk: Rising Temperatures and Plague Odds in Antananarivo, Madagascar,” Adams Senior Common Room, Harvard University, October 2025
“Accelerating the Risk: Rising Temperatures and Plague Odds in Antananarivo, Madagascar,” Big Ideas, Quick Talks: Science of the Human Past Fall Research Talks, Harvard University, October 2025
“The Effect of Climate Change on Plague in Modern Madagascar,” Summer Undergraduate Research Village, Poster session & Talk; Harvard University, August 2025
“Role of Climate in a 1996 Bubonic Plague Outbreak in Mahajanga, Madagascar,” Department of History, Poster session & Talk; Harvard University, November 2024
“Late-Stage Prenatal Development of the Human Pelvic Girdle,” Summer Undergraduate Research Village, Research Talk, Harvard University, August 2024
“Our Strange Ancestors: Mapping atypical burials in early medieval France,” Mapping Past Societies (MAPS): Data Science meets the Human Past, Research Talk, Harvard University, March 2024
Publications
Fernandopulle, C., Wright, M., St. Hillaire, N., Christensen, A.L., Senevirathne, G., Capellini, T D. 3D Development of the Mouse Pelvic Girdle: Insights into Musculoskeletal System and Vasculature. (Manuscript under review).
Senevirathne, G., Christensen, A.L., Gonzales, J., Fernandopulle, S.C., Glass I.A., Birth Defects Research Laboratory, Craft, A., Capellini, T.D. From cells to skeleton: an integrative approach to decode human hip and knee evolution. (Manuscript in prep).
Senevirathne, G., Fernandopulle, S.C., Richard, D., Baumgart, S., Christensen, A.L., Fabbri, M., Hoeppner, J., Jueppner, H., Li, P., Boethe, V., Frobisch, N., Simcock, I., Arthurs, O., Calder, A., Freilich, N., Nowlan, N., Glass, I.A., Birth Defects Research Laboratory, Craft, A., Capellini, T.D. (2025). The Evolution of Hominin Bipedalism in Two Steps. Nature. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09399-9
Mapping Past Societies (Contributed to “Justinianic Plague Sites, 350–840 CE”). Harvard University Digital Atlas of Roman and Medieval Civilizations. Available at: https://darmc.harvard.edu.