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
Ismayilova L., Ssewamala F., Karimli L. (in press). Family support as a mediator of sexual risk taking among orphaned children in rural Uganda. Journal of Adolescent Health.

Alkhasawneh I., Ismayilova L., El-Bassel N, Olimat H. (in press). Status of social and behavioral HIV/AIDS research in Jordan: A systematic review. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal.

Ismayilova L., Olimat H., Alkhasawneh I., El-Bassel N., Shaw S. (under review). Depressive symptoms among Jordanian youth: results of a national survey. Journal of Adolescence.

Ismayilova L., El-Bassel N. (under review). Intimate partner physical and sexual violence and pregnancy outcomes in the three former Soviet Union countries: Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Ukraine. Violence Against Women.

Ismayilova L., Ssewamala F., Mooers E., Nabunya P., Sheshadri S. (in revisions). Imagining the future: community perception of the family empowerment intervention for orphaned adolescents in rural Uganda. Journal of Adolescent Research.

Alkhasawneh I., Ismayilova L., El-Bassel N, Olimat H. (under review). Gender differences and factors associated with HIV knowledge among youth in Jordan. International Journal of Public Health.

Ssewamala FM, Neilands TB, Waldfogl J., Ismayilova L. (in press). The impact of a microfinance-based intervention on mental health functioning of AIDS-orphaned children in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Adolescent Health.

Ssewamala F., Chung Keun H., Neilands T.B., Ismayilova L., and Sperber E. (2010). The Effect of Economic Assets on Sexual Risk Taking among Orphaned Adolescents in Uganda. American Journal of Public Health, 100(3): 483-488.

Guterman, N.B., Haj-Yahia, M.M., Vorhies, V., Ismayilova, L., &  Leshem, B. (2010). 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, 19(6), 687-696.

Ssewamala FM, Karimli L, Chung Keun H, Ismayilova L. (2010). Social Support, Savings, and Educational Outcomes of Orphaned Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa: Prospects for Family-level Economic Strengthening Programs. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(12), 1704-1710.

Ssewamala F., Ismayilova L., McKay M., Sperber E., Bannon W., Alicea S., (2009). Gender and the Effects of an Economic Empowerment Program on Sexual Risk-Taking among Adolescent Youth in Uganda. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(4):372-378.

Ssewamala F. and Ismayilova L. (2009). Integrating Children Savings Accounts in the Care and Support of Orphaned Adolescents in Rural Uganda. Social Service Review, 83 (3):453-472.

Ssewamala F., 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. http://aspe.hhs.gov/fbci/comp08/

Book Chapters
Ismayilova L. (2010). Intimate Partner Violence and Unintended Pregnancy in Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Ukraine. Demographic and Health Survey Working Papers No. 79, Calverton, Maryland, USA: ICF Macro.

Ssewamala, F. M. and Ismayilova, L. (2008). Faith-based Institutions as Project Implementers: An Innovative Economic Empowerment Intervention for Care and Support of AIDS-Orphaned and Vulnerable Children in Rural Uganda. In Pamela Joshi, Stephanie Hawkins and Jeffrey Novey (Eds.) edited volume, Innovations in Effective Compassion: Compendium of Research Papers for the White House FBO Conference (pp.213-235). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last updated September 12, 2011.