Professor Louise Ryan B. Soc. Sc, M.Soc. Sc. PhD

Professor of Sociology

A sociologist, with a PhD from University College Cork in Ireland, Professor Louise Ryan is an internationally recognised scholar whose work, over the last 25 years, is at the cutting edge of migration research. Through her rich and robust research, Louise has developed new insights into some of the most important topics in the field of migration. Her work has focused on the role of migrant nurses in the early decades of the NHS, the on-going contribution of highly skilled migrants across various economic sectors from finance to education, experiences of discrimination and racism impacting various migrant groups over time, changing patterns of migration following EU enlargement in 2004 and Brexit after 2016. Her most recent research involves working with resettled Afghans to explore and co-produce stories of navigating new places against the backdrop of rising anti-migration protests across England.
Louise applies a range of mixed research methods but specialises in qualitative approaches including mobile methods and co-production work through peer research. She is a pioneer in the field of qualitative Social Network Analysis and has published many highly cited articles, books and edited collections on this approach to researching relationality across different places and over time.
Additionally, Louise also has an interest in historical sociology and has published widely on women’s rights movements, especially the suffrage movement, nationalism and nation-building post-independence and partition in Ireland. Her latest book is entitled: Flappers and the Jazz-Age: women and leisure in Ireland, 1920s-1930s (co-edited with Eileen Hogan), Manchester University Press, 2026.

Responsibilities within the university

Leading research projects, supervising research fellows, supervising PhD students, developing funding applications, collaborating with colleagues to support research culture

Awards
  • Awarded International Excellence Visiting Research Scholarship, Corvinus University, Budapest, 2026-27.
  • Awarded International Visiting Scholarship, Hong Kong Baptist University, 2025
  • Invited Visiting Professor, Anonymous University, Barcelona, Spain 2024-2026
  • Invited Visiting Professor, University College Cork, Ireland, 2023
  • Awarded Visiting Scholarship, Maynooth University Ireland, 2022
  • Invited Visiting Professor Social Sciences University, Warsaw, Poland, 2018-2020
  • Awarded Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences 2015 for contribution to migration research.

Recognition
  • Louise is consistently named as one of the most highly cited scholars globally
  • 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.
  • Co-convenor of the BSA Social Network Analysis Study Group (SNAG) on-going
  • Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (since 2015).
  • Founding Series Editor, Sociological Futures, Routledge Publishers (2016-present)
  • Trustee and Director of Publications at the British Sociological Association (2015-2021)
  • Chair of the Board of Trustees, British Sociological Association (2021-2023)
  • Board of Directors IMISCOE (2016-2020)
  • Chair of the Editorial Board of the journal Sociology (until 2018)
  • Member of ESRC Grant Assessment Panel (until 2018)
  • Grant Assessment Panel, Polish, National Science Centre (OPUS) 2018-2020

Research / Scholarly interests

Louise is currently working on three research projects.

  1. Highly skilled migrants across different cities and varied economic sectors – so far this has focused on Hong Kong and Budapest and builds on Louise’s earlier work with highly skilled migrants in London. This work will continue through 2026-27 supported by a fellowship at Corvinus University, Hungary.
  2. The Centre for Collaboration in Community Connectedness (ESRC Research Centre Award), 2024-2029. The Centre is a collective of researchers, practitioners, policy makers, funders and residents collaborating to deliver an ambitious vision for better connected communities across the UK. The local London partner is the Brixton Project.
  3. Experiences of recently resettled Afghans in London and across other geographical locations in England – (funded by various funders including Nuffield Foundation), 2022-2026. This work is now developing through conversations with key stakeholders to ensure real world impact and learning in refugee resettlement policy and practice.

Key funded projects

Selected Research Grants:

  1. Connected Communities – ESRC Research Centre Award, 2024-2029, co-I and strand co-Leader, Total award: £10 mil.
  2. Afghan Resettlement in England: outcomes and experiences (Nuffield Foundation), 2024-2025 co-I - Total award: £350,000
  3. EMpowerment through liquid Integration of Migrant Youth in vulnerable conditions (MIMY)– Horizon 2020, 2020-2023 – co-I and WP co-leader Total award: 2.9million euros
  4. Sustainable Care: connecting people and systems – ESRC 2017-2021 – co-I and WP co-leader – Total award: £2.4 million
  5. Researching Early School Leaving in the EU – FP7 (2013-2018) Lead UK partner and leader on largest work package - Total award: 6 million euros
  6. Highly skilled French Migrants in London’s Financial and Business sectors – 2010-2012 funded by ESRC Grant Holders: Mulholland and Ryan Total Award: £97,000
  7. Polish Children in London Primary Schools: a knowledge exchange and transfer project - 2009-2010, funded by ESRC, Granted Holders: Louise Ryan and Alessio D’Angelo Total Award: £27,000
  8. Enhancing Evidence Based Policy Making in Gender and Migration 2008-2010, funded by the European Commission, FP7 – co-I. 120,000 euros to Middlesex University.
  9. Recent Polish Migrants to London: settlement and transience 2006-2007, Funded by the ESRC grant holders: Louise Ryan, Rosemary Sales and Mary Tilki Total Award: £46,000
  10. Depression in Irish Migrants to London: a qualitative study 2003-04 Funded by ESRC Grant Holders: Gerry Leavey, Prof. Michael King and Dr. Louise Ryan Total Award: £45,000

Selected Commissioned Research and Knowledge Exchange:

  1. Evaluation of the Afghan Resettlement Scheme in the London Borough of Islington (2023-2026), - funded by Islington Council – Ryan (PI) (Lopez and Dalceggio – co-Is) £70,000
  2. Irish Nurses in the NHS: an oral history study (2022-2025) funded by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (Irish abroad Unit) - Ryan PI (with McPolin and Doshi) award £60,000
  3. Modern Poland: migrations and transformations – funded by the Noble Foundation, Poland - a networking grant with the Centre for Migration Research, University of Warsaw - Ryan (PI), 2017-2019 award £30,000
  4. Opportunities for Young People: Pilot evaluation project – London Boroughs of Barnet and Ealing – D’Angelo, Clarke, Kaye and Ryan, 2016-2017 – award £40,000
  5. The History of Emmaus (homeless charity) in the UK commissioned by Emmaus - £45,000 (2015) Research team: McGorrian, Ryan, Kerr and Papadopoulou

Media activity
  • The documentary film The Emerald Nightingales – the story of Irish nurses in the NHS screened on Irish national television RTE (August 2025 and repeated in spring 2026).
  • Invited media appearances including: BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour (Dec 2025), BBC Radio 4 Thinking Allowed (summer 2025), BBC radio Berkshire (June, 2025) News Talk radio Talking History Show (May 2026). Radio Merseyside (May 2025), RTE radio, The History Show (April, 2025), Virgin TV Ireland AM (March 2025), BBC Radio Ulster (March 2025), The Oliver Callan Show, RTE radio (February, 2025)
  • The Irish Nurses project also featured in 4 photographic exhibitions: Museum of the Home exhibition on migration (2024), Heart of the Nation exhibition at Migration Museum (2024), The Florence Nightingale Museum, London, November 2025 and The Whittington Hospital, London (Dec 2025- February 2026) There is also a podcast series arising from the project (produced by Grainne McPolin in collaboration with Louise Ryan and Neha Doshi).

Recent publications

Monographs

Ryan, McPolin and Doshi (2025) Irish Nurses in the NHS: an oral history (Four Courts press)

Ryan, L. (2023) Social Networks and Migration: relocations, relationships and resources (Policy, Bristol University Press)

Ryan, L. (2018) Winning the Vote for Women: the Irish Citizen Newspaper and the Suffrage Movement in Ireland (Four Courts Press)

Ryan, L. (2002) Gender, Identity and the Irish Press, 1922-37: Embodying the Nation (Mellen Press, New York) ISBN 0773472983 pp.1-305.

Edited books

Hogan and Ryan (2026) Flappers and the Jazz-Age: Women and Leisure in Ireland, 1920s-30s (Manchester University Press)

Keskiner, Eve and Ryan (2022) Revisiting Migrant Networks: migrants and their descendants in labour markets, Springer Press.

McKie and Ryan (2016) An end to the crisis in empirical sociology? Routledge

Ryan, L. U. Erel and A. D’Angelo (2015) Migrant Capital: Networks, Identities, Strategies, Palgrave Publishers 8. Ryan, L. and W. Webster (eds) (2008) Gendering Migration: Masculinity, Femininity and Ethnicity in Post-War Migration to Britain (Ashgate Publishers).

Ryan, L. and M. Ward (eds) (2007 re-issued in 2018) Becoming Citizens: Irish Women and the Vote (Irish Academic Press, Dublin) 2007. ISBN 0716527669 pp. 1-239.

Ryan, L. and M. Ward (eds) (2004 re-issued in 2019) Irish Women and Nationalism, (Irish Academic Press, Dublin) 2004, ISBN 9780716533924, pp.1-239

Gallagher, Lubelska and Ryan (eds) (2001) Re-presenting the Past: Women and History (Longmans) ISBN 058238219X pp.1-224.

Selected Journal Articles 

Ryan, L., López, M., & Rasa, M. (2026). Walking with Afghan women: using mobile methods to understand differentiated embedding within different places across England. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1-19.

D'Angelo, A., & Ryan, L. (2026). Networked Migrants and De‐Networked Policies—Examining the Nexus of Migration Regimes and Experiences Through a Relational Lens. Global Networks, 26(2), e70046.

Ryan, L., López, M., Dalceggio, A., & Adell, F. (2025). ‘You Need a Network’: How Highly Skilled Refugees Build Social Networks to Convert Cultural Capital and Reclaim Professional Identities. Sociology.

Gilodi, A., Ryan, L., & Aydar, Z. (2025). Peer Research in a Multi-National Project With Migrant Youth: Re-Thinking Vulnerability and Participatory Approaches. In Forum: Qualitative Social Research (Vol. 26, No. 2).

Targarona Rifa, N., Ryan, L., & Ciordia, A. (2025). Social categories and boundary-making: exploring the potential of interactive visual tools to study boundary work within personal networks. Sociological Research Online, 13607804251347267.

Kloc‐Nowak, W., & Ryan, L. (2025). ‘I Kiss the Screen, But It Is Not the Same’—Grandparenting in Geographically Dispersed Families. Global Networks, 25(2), e12523.

Ryan, L., López, M., & Dalceggio, A. (2024). Encountering the hostile environment: Recently arrived Afghan migrants in London. Critical Social Policy, 44(2), 242-262.

D'Angelo, A., & Ryan, L. (2024). Qualitative analysis of migrants' network data: Using conceptual reflexivity to reveal the ‘magic trick’. International Migration.

Ryan, L., Lopez, M., & Rasa, M. (2024). ‘It hurts my heart’: Afghan women in London negotiating family relationships and (im) mobility regimes across borders. Population, Space and Place, 30(8)

Presentations

Selected Conference Presentations