Philip McCallion, professor and director of the School of Social Work within the College of Public Health, has been named a Highly Ranked Scholar by ScholarGPS, recognizing the impact of his published research. McCallion’s research focuses on improving the quality of life for individuals with intellectual or developmental disability and their caregivers.  

According to ScholarGPS, for the past five years he ranks #4 globally in the field of intellectual disability and #15 in overall disability research, in both cases in the top 0.05 percent of scholars worldwide. The ScholarGPS ranking quantifies research output and citation of that research by others in the field to measure impact.

“It’s an honor knowing that our research is meaningful, it’s useful to other researchers, and ultimately may help influence public policies and practices among providers,” McCallion says. “For me this is something that also reflects the quality of the work of all the people around me. As researchers, we publish with others. We benefit from the input of our colleagues, doctoral students, postdocs, and in my case from people with intellectual disabilities and their family members.”

McCallion has over 250 publications and has received over $50 million in grants and awards from organizations including the National Institute on Aging, Administration on Community Living, the Health Research Board of Ireland and the John A. Hartford Foundation. His research works toward development of evidence-based interventions in health promotion, falls reduction, caregiver support, dementia management and service system redesign. He has been named a fellow of the National Academies of Practice, American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW) and the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD), and he has received the 2022 Career Achievement Award from the Association for Community Organization and Social Action (ACOSA) and a 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Public Health Association (Disability Division).