Meet the Keynote Speakers

Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, M.D

"What the Evolution of the Placenta Can Teach Us About Cardiovascular Risk in Women"

      Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, M.D., is a cardiologist and evolutionary biologist on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, Harvard University’s Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, and the UCLA School of Medicine. Her research focuses on developing innovations for human health using evolutionary models applied to a phylogenetically wide range of species. A leader in the field of evolutionary medicine and One Health, she co-chairs the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Board on Animal Health Sciences, Conservation, and Research (BAHSCR) and is a past president of the International Society for Evolution, Medicine and Public Health. Her book Zoobiquity (co-authored with K. Bowers) was a New York Times bestseller and a Finalist in the American Association for the Advancement of Science Prize for Excellence in Science Books, and the Association of Science Education named Wildhood-a New York Times Book Review Editor's Pick–its 2019 Book of the Year. In her international conferences and courses, Dr. Natterson-Horowitz makes the case for the natural world as an invaluable source of insights that can accelerate biomedical innovation.

Amy Boddy, Ph.D.

"Leveraging Evolution and Comparative Biology for Maternal Health"

     Amy Boddy is a human biologist and evolutionary theorist and chair of the Integrative Anthropological Sciences at UCSB. Her work is multidisciplinary and uses a combination of genomics, comparative biology and evolutionary theory to help understand human health and disease. Her active research areas have a strong focus on women's health, including cancer biology and reproduction. She is currently co-leader in the Comparative Oncology Project at the Arizona Cancer and Evolution (ACE) Center and co-leads an international team on the Microchimerism, Human Health, and Evolution Project. 

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