Dr. Leyla Ismayilova teaches Program Evaluation and Clinical Case Evaluation courses at the Columbia University School of Social Work (CUSSW). She has also co-taught International Social Work Development and Practice at CUSSW. She received her PhD and Master's Degree in Social Work from CUSSW with a concentration in advanced clinical practice and was among the first Open Society Institute/Soros Foundation fellows from the former Soviet Union at CUSSW. She also holds Bachelor’s and Master's degrees in psychology from Baku State University (Baku, Azerbaijan).

Dr. Ismayilova was the founder and director of the Center for Psychological Counseling in Azerbaijan. The Center was the first mental health clinic in the country that provided counseling services to adults, children, and families with various emotional and behavioral problems. Her work experience also includes clinical practice at substance abuse and child and family mental health clinics in New York City and international research and consultancy projects in Uganda, Kenya, Jordan, and the West Bank.

Dr. Ismayilova is currently a post-doctoral research scientist at CUSSW working on family-based interventions for orphaned children in sub-Saharan Africa and preventive interventions with the Columbia University Global Health Research Center of Central Asia.   


Journal Articles
Menon, N., Ismayilova, L., Ssewamala, F.M. (under review). Maternal Education, Households Assets and Child Health Outcomes: A Comparative Study of Uganda and India. Health Policy and Planning.

Guterman, N.B., Haj-Yahia, M.M., Vorhies, V., Ismayilova, L., Leshem, B. (in press). Help-Seeking and Internal Obstacles to Receiving Support in the Wake of Community Violence Exposure: The Case of Arab and Jewish Adolescents in Israel. Journal of Child and Family Studies.

Ssewamala, F.M., Karimli L, Chung Keun H, Ismayilova L. (under review). Social Support, Savings, and Educational Outcomes of Orphaned Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa: Prospects for Family-level Economic Strengthening Programs. International Journal of Social Welfare.

Ssewamala, F.M., Ismayilova, L., McKay, M., Sperber, E., Bannon, W., & Alicea, S. (in press). Gender and the Effects of an Economic Empowerment Program on Sexual Risk-Taking among Adolescent Youth in Uganda. Journal of Adolescent Health.

Ssewamala, F.M., Chung Keun, H., Neilands, T.B., Ismayilova, L., & Sperber, E. (in press). The Effect of Economic Assets on Sexual Risk Taking among Orphaned Adolescents in Uganda. American Journal of Public Health.

Ssewamala, F.M. & Ismayilova L. (2009). Integrating Children Savings Accounts in the Care and Support of Orphaned Adolescents in Rural Uganda. Social Service Review, 83(3).

Ssewamala, F.M., Bannon, W., Alicea, S., & Ismayilova, L. (2008). A Novel Economic Intervention to Reduce HIV Risks among School-going AIDS Orphans in Rural Uganda. Journal of Adolescent Health, 42(1), 102-104.

Last updated November 10, 2009.