Barbara natterson-horowitz ucla cheerleaders
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The project seeks to (1) provide insight into the origins of cardiomyopathy; (2) raise awareness of other species’ cardiovascular health as sentinels for human health, and (3) accelerate the identification of natural animal models for resistance to heart failure. Her studies have uncovered roadmaps for solving human health challenges – from heart failure and breast cancer to anxiety disorders and infertility.
She is a Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at UCLA, served as President of the International Society for Evolution, Medicine and Public Health, and continues as a cardiovascular consultant to the Los Angeles Zoo.
Image credit: Crystal Whiteaker, Crystal Lily Creative
Barbara Natterson-Horowitz
Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, M.D., Ph.D., is a cardiologist and evolutionary biologist on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, Harvard University’s Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, and UCLA School of Medicine.
“Dr. She is collaborating with colleagues at the Smithsonian, UC Santa Barbara and UCLA.
Developing tools for promoting female-focused One Health in Rwanda
Dr.
A partnership between the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and Sidney Kimmel Medical College aims to identify early strategies for applying veterinary knowledge to the human syndrome.
Natterson-Horowitz is compiling a comprehensive databank of ovulation patterns, triggers and inducing effects in mammals, reptiles, birds and fish to:
(1) identify environmental factors that may influence human ovulation, and (2) identify biological strategies for potential use by human fertility experts.
A recent study discovered that rates of postpartum depression tripled in new mothers during the pandemic; a comparative approach could improving physicians’ understanding of the devastating mental health challenge.
Working with Harvard medical students and the Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, Dr.
Natterson-Horowitz is studying how mammals, reptiles, birds and fish often react to a reduced social status by excessive or inadequate eating. This can cause severe fatigue, breathing difficulties, fluid buildup and rising pressure inside the heart. Natterson-Horowitz was co-author for a poster presented at the 2024 World One Health Congress.
Female Health
Studying the pregnant giraffe as a natural animal model for resistance to high blood pressure in human pregnancy
Working with maternal-fetal physicians, veterinary pathologists and placenta specialists, Dr. Natterson-Horowitz seeks the mechanisms behind female giraffes’ resistance to the leading cause of death in pregnant women and their babies.
Natterson-Horowitz is surveying other vertebrate species for different forms of cardiomyopathy, a chronic condition that weakens the heart muscle and prevents it from pumping blood to the rest of the body.
By applying practices used by dairy veterinarians, their research seeks to develop improved treatments for women and design a better breast pump based on milking machines.
Mapping mammary carcinoma in wild animals to identify communities at risk for poor breast health
By creating environmental maps for mammary (breast) cancer, ovarian disorders and endometrial disease in other mammals, Dr.
Natterson-Horowitz is expanding monitoring by wildlife biologists and veterinarians for non-communicable diseases in domestic pets, wild species and urban wildlife like squirrels, raccoons and rats.
A group of researchers from UC Santa Barbara, the Smithsonian, Harvard and UCLA is placing special emphasis on conditions affecting women’s health with plans to later expand to a wider range of diseases.
Scrutinizing ovulation patterns in wild animals as a model for irregular ovulation in women
Dr.
Her most recent book, Wildhood, was selected as Book of the Year by the Association of Science Education and was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Pick. The team seeks to identify the biological pathways supporting these responses, hypothesizing that they may be conserved in humans and could hold the potential to lessen similar reactions in people suffering from eating disorders.
Investigating animals’ appetite responses to lower social status as natural models for human eating disorders
Studying mental illness in animals as a strategy for reducing mental health stigma in human societies
Dr.
Pregnant giraffes’ blood pressures routinely rise to 300/180 -- heights considered deadly for pregnant women -- yet the animals face zero complications.
The project is a collaboration with the Smithsonian’s Global Health Program, UC San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego Zoo, UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center, and Harvard University’s human evolutionary biology department.
Using dairy-farm milking methods to improve women’s milk production and reduce breast pain
Dr.
Natterson-Horowitz is developing models to (1) study the evolutionary origins of cardiovascular sex differences; (2) create a framework for the comparative study of cardiovascular sex differences, and (3) identify animal models with differing levels of cardiovascular sex differences that may prove relevant to the study of women’s heart health.
She called for physicians to recognize global biodiversity as an irreplaceable source of insights for human health.
Partnering with naturalist and science writer Kathryn Bowers (also a Zoobiquity co-author) Natterson-Horowitz's most recent book, Wildhood, turns to the animal world for insights into human adolescence. Natterson-Horowitz is studying behavioral abnormalities in animals to uncover parallel forms of psychological disease in other species.
Her team has found cataracts in species ranging from fish and reptiles to birds and many mammals. She has created a whole new field at the intersection of evolutionary biology, human medicine and veterinary medicine."
– Dr. Randolph Nesse, The Center for Evolution and Medicine
Image credit: Alisha Jucevic
"When we protect all species, we protect our own.”
- Jane Goodall
Redefining the boundary between animal and human medicine
Natterson-Horowitz's research turns to the animal world for insights into human health.