Dr. Ashley Barratclough graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2009. She spent 10 years in clinical practice ranging from small animal, farm and equine through to zoo, wildlife and aquatic species prior to joining NMMF in 2018. She obtained her Masters in Wild Animal Health from the Zoological Society of London in 2013 focused on the North Atlantic right whale. Subsequently she obtained her Masters of Science focused on manatee conservation from the University of Florida in 2015. Dr. Barratclough’s current focus is applying clinical research to conservation medicine particularly to the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on bottlenose dolphin health. She completed her PhD at the University of Florida in bottlenose dolphin epigenetics in 2024 and is currently pioneering the use of epigenetics to determine health status in both cetaceans and pinnipeds. In addition, she is also working internationally through Operation Grace to improve stranding response, necropsy guidelines, health assessments and rehabilitation of at-risk cetaceans.