DrNicholas Ryan

Dr Nicholas Ryan (PhD, MPsych, MAPS) is a practicing Clinical Neuropsychologist and holds a continuing academic position as Senior Lecturer (Teaching and Research) in the School of Psychology at Deakin University. Dr Ryan also holds an honorary appointment as Senior Fellow in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital.

Dr Ryan's research program is focused on answering clinically relevant questions to improve prognostic accuracy, treatment and care for children and families impacted by neurodevelopmental differences, brain injury, and other childhood chronic health conditions. Broadly defined, his research aims to understand how neurostructural, genetic, and family-environmental factors interact to influence child development and functioning in high-risk clinical populations.

To date, Dr Ryan's research has primarily focused on delineating the neurobiological and family-environmental correlates of cognitive and socio-emotional development after childhood acquired brain insults (e.g. traumatic brain injury, cancer, ischemic stroke, concussion). Using prospective, longitudinal research methods, his work employs structural brain imaging, behavioural testing, and psychometric assessments of children and families to identify modifiable risk factors that may be amenable to psychological interventions. This body of work directly informs Dr Ryan's other concurrent research priorities, which include the development and evaluation of cognitive-behavioural interventions to strengthen child self-regulation skills and parent mental health, particularly in young people and families impacted by early life brain injuries and neurodevelopmental differences.

More recently, in collaboration with the Victorian Clinical Genetics Services (VCGS) and Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Dr Ryan is undertaking research to examine the association between autism and alterations of the Ras-MAPK signalling pathway. Dr Ryan is particularly interested in using social neuroscience techniques to identify potential mechanisms that underlie this association. This research will ultimately inform novel methods for assessment, treatment and management of social challenges in children with neurodevelopmental differences.