Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz to lead National Academies board

Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, a professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been appointed by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine to direct its Board on Animal Health Science, Conservation and Research. 

She will co-chair the board with Robert Dysko, a faculty veterinarian at the University of Michigan. Formerly called the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research, the new name reflects the National Academies’ expanded interest in how animal health connects to human and environmental health. 

“Our mission is to advance species-spanning discoveries to benefit the health of animals, humans and the planet we share,” said Natterson-Horowitz, a founding co-director of the UCLA Evolutionary Medicine Program. “Fostering research that traverses disciplines is increasingly crucial for protecting the health of all species.” 

She co-authored the New York Times bestseller “Zoobiquity: The Astonishing Connection between Human and Animal Health” and “Wildhood: The Astounding Connections between Human and Animal Adolescents,” and is a cardiovascular consultant on the medical advisory board of the Los Angeles Zoo.