headshot of barbara horowitz

Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, M.D., Ph.D

Lecturer on Global Health and Social Medicine, Part-time, Harvard Medical School
Lecturer on Human Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Arts & Sciences

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 the School of Medicine at UCLA. Her research focuses on evolutionary biology and the natural world as sources of insights for human health and development. A leader in the field of evolutionary medicine, she chairs the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Board on Animal Health Sciences, Conservation, and Research (BAHSCR). Zoobiquity, her best-selling popular science book co-authored with K. Bowers, was a Finalist in the American Association for the Advancement of Science Excellence in Science Books Award, a Smithsonian Top Book of 2012, and a Discover Magazine Best Book of the Year. Her recently published Wildhood chronicles the transition from juvenile to adult biology and behavior across vertebrate species. Dr. Natterson-Horowitz earned her B.A. and M.A. at Harvard University, her M.D. at University of California, San Francisco, and her Ph.D. at University of California, Los Angeles.

Dr. Natterson-Horowitz’s research focuses on the natural world as a source of insights for human health and development. Her Phylogeny Lab develops translational tools that integrate knowledge from a wide range of metazoan species to provide novel insights into human challenges. Areas of focus have included cardiovascular disease, women’s health–mammary and ovarian cancer, endometrial disease, gestational hypertension—and, most recently, mental health.

Mechanisms of equality and inequality in mammalian societies.
Authors: Authors: Smith JE, Natterson-Horowitz B, Mueller MM, Alfaro ME.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
View full abstract on Pubmed
Cardiomyopathy Across the Tree of Life: Insights for Clinicians and Investigators.
Authors: Authors: Natterson-Horowitz B, Linde A.
Circ Heart Fail
View full abstract on Pubmed
Cataracts Across the Tree of Life: A Roadmap for Prevention and Biomedical Innovation.
Authors: Authors: Natterson-Horowitz B, Moore BA, Reynolds A, Espericueta L, Head JM, Lam D, Turner R, Williams DM, Blumstein DT.
Am J Ophthalmol
View full abstract on Pubmed
Galectin-3 is Associated with Heart Failure Incidence: A Meta-Analysis.
Authors: Authors: Baccouche BM, Mahmoud MA, Nief C, Patel K, Natterson-Horowitz B.
Curr Cardiol Rev
View full abstract on Pubmed
Glaucoma through Animal's Eyes: Insights from the Evolution of Intraocular Pressure in Mammals and Birds.
Authors: Authors: Hongjamrassilp W, Zhang R, Natterson-Horowitz B, Blumstein DT.
Animals (Basel)
View full abstract on Pubmed
Resilience integrates concepts in aging research.
Authors: Authors: Promislow D, Anderson RM, Scheffer M, Crespi B, DeGregori J, Harris K, Horowitz BN, Levine ME, Riolo MA, Schneider DS, Spencer SL, Valenzano DR, Hochberg ME.
iScience
View full abstract on Pubmed
Female Health Across the Tree of Life: Insights at the Intersection of Women's Health, One Health and Planetary Health.
Authors: Authors: Natterson-Horowitz B, Boddy AM, Zimmerman D.
PNAS Nexus
View full abstract on Pubmed
History of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Institute for Laboratory Animal Research.
Authors: Authors: Kinter LB, Dysko RC, Natterson-Horowitz B, Brayton CF.
ILAR J
View full abstract on Pubmed
Beyond the Laboratory: Emerging Landscape of Animal Studies - the Influence of National Academies of Sciences Activities and Publications.
Authors: Authors: Natterson-Horowitz B, Reynolds A.
ILAR J
View full abstract on Pubmed
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: A Species-Spanning Pathology.
Authors: Authors: Horowitz BN.
J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth
View full abstract on Pubmed