Barry Keverne is a neuroscientist renowned for using molecular genetics techniques to study brain development and function in mammals. Barry began his career by studying monkeys, successfully analysing the neuroendocrine mechanisms that underlie the suppression of ovulation.

He also showed that the central release of opiates by the mother during birth is required for mother–offspring bonding in sheep and social bonding in monkeys. He further developed the neural mechanisms for pheromone recognition memory. His recent work has focused on genomic imprinting and the important role of the matriline in the co-adaptive development and evolution of the brain and placenta.

Barry co-organised two Royal Society discussion meetings on The Science of Well-Being in 2004 and Human Evolution: Brain Development and Placental Function in 2014. He co-organised a Sackler Colloquium for the US National Academy of Sciences on Epigenetic Changes in the Developing Brain: Effects on Behavior. Barry was elected an Honorary Foreign Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1999 and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2005.