He had a lot of interaction with students. Ryan discussed the difference between the internal and external rewards of research. Fraud, he said, often stems from the overactive pursuit of external goods. As an obstetrician himself, he said, he has had to deal with numerous ethical problems, some dating back to the days when distributing information about birth control was against the law. Now, he said, most issues in obstetrics revolve around maternal-fetal conflict, in which the best treatment for a mother might not be the best treatment for her fetus.
Many cases involve mothers who decide on religious grounds to forego therapy.
In 1994 and 1995, Ryan chaired a U.S. Public Health Service committee charged with making recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services regarding research integrity in government supported research. Ryan admitted that the committee's conclusions seemed to be uncomplicated solutions to difficult questions.