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Dinosaurs suffered from brain cancer, arthritis, and gout. Koalas catch Chlamydia. Gorillas experience depression. Stallions self-harm in a way that correlates to "cutting" for human patients. Animals and humans get the same diseases, yet physicians and veterinarians rarely talk.

In a May 30 SFI Community Lecture in Santa Fe, Barbara Natterson-Horowitz drew from the latest in medical and veterinary science, as well as evolutionary and molecular biology, to propose an interdisciplinary, comparative approach to physical and behavioral health for doctors treating patients of all species.

Watch the video of the presentation (70 minutes, May 30, 2013)

Read the article about the lecture in the Albuquerque Journal (May 28, 2013)

Hear an interview with Nattern-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers on KSFR's Santa Fe Radio Cafe (May 30, 2013)

Natterson-Horowitz, M.D., is an attending cardiologist at the UCLA Medical Center and a professor of medicine for the UCLA Division of Cardiology. She serves as a cardiovascular consultant to the Los Angeles Zoo and is a member of its Medical Advisory Board. Her recent book with Kathryn Bowers is Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us About Health and the Science of Healing.

The 2013 SFI Community Lecture series is made possible by Los Alamos National Bank.

SFI’s Community Lectures offer a window into the Institute’s research to understand the common patterns in physical, computational, biological, and social complex systems that underlie the most profound issues facing science and society today.

Next lecture:

Wednesday, July 31, 7:30 p.m., Beyond Interdisciplinarity: Reconceptualizing the Academic Enterprise: Arizona State University President Michael Crow explains why conventional interdisciplinary approaches might not be sufficient to address tomorrow’s challenges. He then suggests a reconceptualized academic enterprise that adapts to emerging complexities and enhances our ability to manage tomorrow’s challenges.

See the schedule of upcoming SFI community events here.