Her research focuses on regulatory policy affecting stigmatized health conditions including obesity, mental health, and substance abuse. She is currently the principal investigator on a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant to study how messages used to frame the issue of childhood obesity affect public attitudes about regulation of food marketing. In other research, Barry studies the effects of behavioral health parity regulations and collaborates on a National Institute of Mental Health–funded study on the impact of the Food and Drug Administration regulatory policy on pediatric antidepressant use and suicide risk. Barry is the director of the health policy program within the Division of Health Policy and Administration and an affiliated faculty member at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale. She received her PhD and MPP degrees from Harvard University.