Talk to the animals
Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz's interest in what animals can teach us about the human body and mind has led her to focus on the species-spanning similarities in female health.

Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz visits with her favorite orangutan at the Los Angeles Zoo. (Photo by Milo Mitchell)
May 19, 2023
By uclahealth
1 min read
Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, MD, is a cardiologist at UCLA Health and has been a professor of medicine for more than 25 years. She also happens to be an evolutionary biologist, a practice that influences her specialized research. Dr. Natterson-Horowitz studies female animals to learn more about women's health issues she treats in the clinic. On a recent visit to the Los Angeles Zoo, Dr. Natterson-Horowitz stopped by the habitats of the okapi and giraffe – two related species that can teach much about women's cardiovascular health.

Studying female animals helps Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz better understand women's health. Here she feeds a giraffe at the Los Angeles Zoo. (Photo by Milo Mitchell)