A Seattle native, Dr. Barash is a graduate of Swarthmore College with a double major in Biology and English Literature. She was then recruited to UC Davis, where she obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree and completed a PhD in Microbiology. After completing a rotating internship at VCA West Los Angeles, she attended North Carolina State University’s renowned Internal Medicine department to complete her residency. Dr. Barash came back home to the West Coast in 2019.

Dr. Barash’s clinical interests are broad, but her primary loves are infectious diseases and gastrointestinal/hepatic diseases. She has published widely, including on the pathogenesis of Giardia, urosepsis and bacteremia, tick-borne diseases, and management of gastrointestinal foreign bodies.  She is also interested in endoscopy, immune-mediated diseases, endocrine disorders, renal and urinary disease, and all other clinical puzzles she can get her hands on.

Dr. Barash has wanted to be a veterinarian since growing up with animals on a small farm.  She loves exploring the restaurants, beaches, and mountains of Santa Barbara with her wife, new baby (born December 2022!), and three wild dogs. She also has four cats, a snake, a turtle, and a parrot.  Dr. Barash became Medical Director at AVS in 2024.