Barry grew up in Germany and the U.S. before attending the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he received a Bachelor of Science with a focus on Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in 2010. He then attended Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand, and received his veterinary degree in 2014.

After completing a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Massey University, he travelled to Coral Springs, Florida, to complete a specialty internship in small animal internal medicine. Thereafter he was accepted into the Clinician Investigator program at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine to undertake an internal medicine residency followed by a PhD. He completed his board examinations in 2021 to become a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, and received his PhD in Comparative Biomedical Sciences with a focus on Immunology in 2023.

In addition to clinical practice, Barry has a strong interest in teaching and research. He was actively engaged in training veterinary students and interns during his residency and continued to teach within the veterinary curriculum during his PhD.

His dissertation research focused on the manipulation of mast cells to treat a variety of diseases such as allergy, anaphylaxis, and mast cell cancer.

His other professional interests include immune-mediated, infectious, gastroenterological, and endocrinological disease, as well as endoscopic procedures. He has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and presented his research at various conferences in the U.S. and Europe; he has also served as a reviewer for veterinary internal medicine and immunology journals.

In his free time, Barry enjoys hiking, traveling, biking, and cooking.