Louise Marie Ryan is an Australian biostatistician. She is a professor of statistics in the School of Mathematical Sciences at the

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, though its origins as a Institute of technology, ...

, president-elect of the International Biometric Society, and an editor-in-chief of the journal '' Statistics in Medicine''. She is known for her work applying statistics to

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

and

risk assessment Risk assessment is a process for identifying hazards, potential (future) events which may negatively impact on individuals, assets, and/or the environment because of those hazards, their likelihood and consequences, and actions which can mitigate ...

environmental health Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural environment, natural and built environment affecting human health. To effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements for a hea ...

Education and career

Ryan graduated in 1978 from

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

, beginning her studies in

actuarial science Actuarial science is the discipline that applies mathematics, mathematical and statistics, statistical methods to Risk assessment, assess risk in insurance, pension, finance, investment and other industries and professions. Actuary, Actuaries a ...

but shifting to statistics under the mentorship of Don McNeil. She completed her PhD in 1983 from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Her dissertation, ''The Weighted Normal Plot II: Efficiency of Tests for Carcinogenicity'', was supervised by Arthur P. Dempster. She remained at Harvard as a postdoctoral researcher and faculty member. At Harvard, she became the Henry Pickering Walcott Professor of Biostatistics, and chaired the biostatistics department. In 2009, she returned to Australia as Chief of the Division of Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics at

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

. In 2012, she moved again, to the

Awards and honours

Ryan became a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 27, 1839, and is the second-oldest continuous ...

in 1993. She is also an elected member of the

International Statistical Institute The International Statistical Institute (ISI) is a professional association of statisticians. At a meeting of the Jubilee Meeting of the Royal Statistical Society, statisticians met and formed the agreed statues of the International Statistical ...

, and was elected to the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

in 2008. In 2012 she became a fellow of the

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...

for "developing and applying statistical methods to diverse areas of public interest, including financial risk, climate change and cancer". In 2015 she received the 2015 Centennial Medal from Harvard University, which is an honour given by Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to recipients of graduate degrees from the School for their contributions to society. Other notable figures to receive the prestigious award include authors Margaret Atwood (1990) and Susan Sontag (1991). In 2018 she was awarded the Pitman Medal for outstanding achievement in statistics by the Statistical Society of Australia. Ryan was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the 2024 Australia Day Honours for "distinguished service to biostatistical research and methodology, to environmental science, and to professional societies".

References

External links

A conversation with Louise Ryan
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Louise M. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian statisticians Australian women statisticians Macquarie University alumni Harvard University alumni Harvard University faculty Academic staff of the University of Technology Sydney Elected Members of the International Statistical Institute Officers of the Order of Australia Fellows of the American Statistical Association Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Members of the National Academy of Medicine