Research Areas

Cardiology, Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, Evolutionary Medicine

Research Interests

My research explores the natural world as a powerful source of lifesaving insights for human health. Studying a diverse range of animals in natural settings, my work has uncovered evolved adaptations with relevance to heart failure, sudden cardiac death, seizures, dementia, movement disorders, infertility, and psychiatric conditions including anxiety, compulsive, and eating disorders. Female Health Across the Tree of Life and Mental Health Across the Tree of Life are two of my current primary research initiatives. My first book, Zoobiquity, argues for more species-spanning perspectives and approaches to human health, while my follow-up book, Wildhood, applies broadly comparative and evolutionary lenses to understand the challenges and vulnerabilities of adolescence across the tree of life. I lead a medical phylogenomics lab developing computational methods for uncovering insights for human health in the natural world. I recently completed my Ph.D., for which I developed computational and phylogenomic models for generating and testing hypotheses explaining the origin of cardiovascular sex differences. www.bnatterson-horowitz.com

Selected Publications

Natterson-Horowitz, B., Boddy, Amy M., Zimmerman, Dawn. Female Health Across the Tree of Life: Insights at the Intersection of Women's Health, One Health and Planetary Health. PNAS Nexus 2022. doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac044.

Natterson-Horowitz, B., Aktipis, Athena, Fox, Molly, Gluckman, Peter D., Low, Felicia M., Mace, Ruth, Read, Andrew, Turner, Paul E., Blumstein, Daniel T. The future of evolutionary medicine: accelerating understanding, innovation, and application of evolutionary principles in biomedicine. Frontiers in Science, 2023. doi: 10.3389/fsci.2023.997136.

Natterson-Horowitz, B. and Linde, A. Cardiomyopathy Across the Tree of Life: Insights for Clinicians and Investigators. Circulation: Heart Failure, 2023. doi: 10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.123.010485.

Horowitz, B.N., Kutinsky, Ilana B., Linde, Annika. Species-Spanning Echocardiography: Cardiovascular Insights from Across the Animal Kingdom. Current Cardiology Reports 2020. 22(12):165. doi:10.1007/s11886-020-01417-8.

Smith, Jennifer, Natterson-Horowitz, Barbara, Mueller, Maddison M., and Alfaro, Michael E. Mechanisms of equality and inequality in mammalian societies. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, 2023. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0307.

Natterson-Horowitz, B., Moore, Bret A., Reynolds, Amelia, Espericueta, Luisa, Head, Jennifer M., Lam, Dang, Turner, Ryan, Williams, Dana M., Blumstein, Daniel T. Cataracts Across the Tree of Life: A Roadmap for Prevention and Biomedical Innovation. American Journal of Ophthalmology, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2023.01.007.

Hongjamrassilp, Watcharapong, Zhang, Robert, Natterson-Horowitz, B., and Blumstein, Daniel T. Glaucoma through Animal’s Eyes: Insights from the Evolution of Intraocular Pressure in Mammals and Birds. Animals, 2022. doi: 10.3390/ani12162027.

Natterson-Horowitz, B., Desmarchelier, Marion, Winkler, Andrea Sylvia, Carabin, Hélène. Beyond Zoonoses in OneHealth: Non-communicable diseases across the animal kingdom. Frontiers in Public Health 2022. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.807186.

Smith, Jennifer E., Natterson-Horowitz, B., and Michael E. Alfaro. The nature of privilege: Intergenerational wealth in animal societies. Behavioral Ecology 2021. doi: 10.1093/beheco/arab137.

Natterson-Horowitz, B. and Cho, J.H. Stress, subordination and anomalies of feeding across the tree of life: Implications for interpreting human eating disorders. Frontiers in Psychology 2021. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.727554.

Horowitz, B. N. Baccouche, B. M., Head, Jennifer Mary, Shivkumar, Tejas, Bertelsen, Mads Frost, Aalkjær, Christian, Smerup, Morten H., Ajijola, Olujimi A., Hadaya, Joseph, Wang, Tobias. Did Giraffe Cardiovascular Evolution Solve the Problem of Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction? Evolution, Medicine and Public Health 2021:248-255. doi: 10.1093/emph/eoab016.

Winkler, Andrea Sylvia, Brux, Christina Marie, Carabin, Hélène, et al. The Lancet One Health Commission: harnessing our interconnectedness for equitable, sustainable, and healthy socioecological systems. Oxford University Press, 2025. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)00627-0.

Mellon, Walker J., Sterner, Beckett, Ågren, J. Arvid, Vincze, Orsolya, Marx, Matthew T., Kapsetaki, Stefania E., Huang, Ping-Han, Yavari, Bryan, McCollum, Hunter W., Natterson-Horowitz, Barbara, Human, Hannah, Baciu, Cristina, Richker, Harley, Mallo, Diego, Maley, Carlo, Harmon, Luke J., Compton, Zachary T. Leveraging Comparative Phylogenetics for Evolutionary Medicine: Applications to Comparative Oncology. bioRxiv, 2025. doi: 10.1101/2025.02.11.637459.