Luisa Ryan has taken leave from her role as Best Practice Officer for the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) to undertake her PhD research on MONUSCO's Force Intervention Brigade (FIB).

Her research focuses on the impact of the FIB on the protection of civilians and future peacekeeping operations.

She has a BA, a Bachelor of Social Science (honours) and a Graduate Certificate of Applied Law from the University of Queensland. In addition to these, she also earned a Master of Journalism and Mass Communication and a Graduate Diploma in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of North Carolina while studying there as a Rotary Peace Fellow.