Rate My Professor Aoife Ryan

Professor Aoife Ryan is Professor in Human Nutrition and Dietetics in the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences at University College Cork. She graduated with a first-class honours BSc in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from Trinity College Dublin and Dublin Institute of Technology, earning the Trinity College gold medal, Flora Postgraduate Scholarship for first place in her BSc class, and Best BSc Research Dissertation award. While working as a surgical oncology dietitian at St. James's Hospital for nearly eight years, she completed her PhD at the Department of Surgery, Trinity College Dublin. She subsequently served as Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at New York University. In 2011, she joined the academic staff at University College Cork, advancing to her current professorial role. She directed the MSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics programme from 2019 to 2022 and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from UCC. A CORU Registered Dietitian, she has taught nutrition and dietetics to undergraduates and postgraduates in nutritional sciences, dietetics, nursing, medicine, dentistry, radiography, speech and language therapy, pharmacy, and public health at Trinity College Dublin, New York University, and University College Cork.

Professor Ryan's primary research interest is the effect of cancer on nutritional status. Her programme examines computed tomography-diagnosed cancer cachexia and sarcopenia, assessing impacts on quality of life, chemotherapy toxicity, and survival. She leads clinical trials on foods for special medical purposes to treat disease-related malnutrition and muscle wasting in cancer patients and investigates treatments for swallowing disorders (dysphagia) in cancer. As principal investigator on multiple randomised controlled trials, she has secured €4 million in competitive funding from the Health Research Board, Science Foundation Ireland, Food for Health Ireland, and industry partners. Notable awards include Research Dietitian of the Year and Innovation in Dietetics Award from the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, two Irish Healthcare Awards, the Nutrition Society's Julie Wallace Award, and the 2019 Cuthbertson Medal for excellence in clinical nutrition and metabolism research. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, such as 'High-protein supplementation during cancer therapy – strengthening of the evidence-base to support its safety and clinical benefits' (2024, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) with Ní Chonaill, and authored 14 professionally endorsed cookbooks for cancer patients, distributed free through Ireland's health service, including her latest 'The Anti-Cancer Cookbook: Recipes to reduce your risk'. In April 2024, she delivered her inaugural professorial lecture, 'Cancer-Associated Malnutrition: The Skeleton in the Hospital Closet'.