Barbara Natterson-Horowitz


Barbara Natterson-Horowitz is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. She is a cardiologist and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at University of California, Los Angeles. She is a New York Times bestselling author of the book Zoobiquity - , co-authored with Kathryn Bowers. The book makes the case for a cross-species approach to medicine which includes veterinary and evolutionary perspectives.

Education

Natterson-Horowitz earned her Bachelor’s and master's degrees from Harvard University. She earned her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco. She went on to complete internal medicine and psychiatry residencies at the University of California, Los Angeles where she served as chief resident in both departments. Her postgraduate training included a fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at the UCLA Division of Cardiology followed by advanced training in heart failure and cardiac imaging.

Career

Since 2017, she has been a Visiting Professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. She is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and a Professor in the UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She practiced cardiology as an attending physician at UCLA Medical Center for more than twenty years, served as Director of Imaging at the UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center, and instructor for multiple courses at the UCLA medical school.
Natterson-Horowitz served as cardiovascular consultant and a member of the Medical Advisory Board for the Los Angeles Zoo. Peter Lehmann reviewed her book Zoobiquity for readers in Germany, especially for psychiatric patients, and emphasized Natterson-Horowitz’ and Bowers’ reference to capture myopathy, which – according to the authors – may threaten agitated psychiatric patients in restraints in psychiatric wards, who can therefore die of heart failure, too.
In 2011, Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers founded the Zoobiquity Conference to bring together leaders from human and animal medicine for collaborations to accelerate biomedical innovation to advance human and animal health. There have been over 12 Zoobiquity Conferences held globally.

Other publications

Natterson-Horowitz publishes academic research in scientific journals such as Nature, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Echocardiography, The American Journal of Cardiology, and Circulation.; and in media publications such as Newsweek, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, and New Scientist. Her September 2014 TED talk on species-spanning healthcare has received over a million views.

Personal life

Natterson-Horowitz is married and has two grown children.