Professor Louise Ryan named among top 0.5% of scholars worldwide

Latest recognition reflects Professor Ryan's exceptional scholarly output and influence, and work that demonstrates consistent academic leadership.

Date: 18 June 2025

Professor Louise Ryan has been ranked among the top 0.5% of scholars worldwide in the 2024 ScholarGPS rankings, which assess more than 30 million academic profiles. She placed 49th globally in social network research, recognising her outstanding contributions to the field.

ScholarGPS uses a rigorous, data-driven methodology assessing research productivity, impact, and quality across 14 fields, 177 disciplines, and more than 350,000 specialties. Its rankings reflect exceptional scholarly output and influence, with Professor Ryan’s work demonstrating consistent academic leadership.

Reflecting on this career milestone, Professor Ryan said: “This recognition reflects years of collaborative research and the importance of making visible the lived experiences behind the data,” Louise said. “I’m particularly proud that work rooted in real-world impact can be honoured alongside more traditional metrics of academic excellence.”

A beacon of success: Irish Nurses in the NHS

The announcement comes during a period of notable public and academic engagement surrounding Professor Ryan’s most recent book, Irish Nurses in the NHS, co-authored with Gráinne McPolin, a documentary maker, based in Ireland, and London Met PhD student Neha Doshi. The book explores the lives of Irish women who migrated to Britain to work in the National Health Service.

In April, the book was launched in Dublin by the Irish Minister for Health at a ceremony hosted by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, an honour underscoring the book’s national significance. That same month, Ryan appeared on Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTE, for her second interview about the book.

More recently, the Mayor of Liverpool formally launched the book at a major civic event attended by local community organisations from across the city in May. The event recognised the contributions of nine Liverpool-based participants featured in the book. Ahead of the launch, Louise and Grainne were interviewed on BBC Radio Merseyside to discuss the event and the book’s continuing impact.

“We always hoped the book would resonate with the communities who shared their stories, but the depth and warmth of the response has been genuinely humbling,” said Professor Ryan. “It’s clear that the legacy of Irish nurses in the NHS is deeply cherished, and this project has shown just how profoundly Irish communities have shaped healthcare and society in Britain.”

The continued engagement and public response underscore the broad cultural and scholarly impact of the book and Professor Ryan’s work.

Picture of Professor Louise Ryan