Joanne Ahola, MD
Medical Director Emeritus, Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights; Co_Author and Thematic Reviewer, Istanbul Protocol; Trainer and Mentor, PHR Volunteer Asylum Network
joanneaholamd@gmail.com
New York, New York, USA

Area of expertise: psychological asylum evaluation, LGBTI asylum, one year bard cases, testifying in court, asylum trainings, Starting medical school asylum clinics, gender based violence

Joanne Ahola, M.D., is a psychiatrist in NYC. She has been a volunteer asylum evaluator with PHR since 2000. She was a founding medical director of WCCHR. Since 2009, she has been an asylum trainer around the U.S. She is a Co-Author and Thematic Reviewer for the updated Istanbul Protocol. Her special interests are LBGTI asylum, one year bar cases and testifying in court. She has co-authored a number of articles and chapters on asylum and is one of the creators of a scale to assess sexual orientation and gender identity in refugees and asylum seekers. She has served on the voluntary faculties of both the Columbia University and Weill Cornell medical schools and holds a mastery certificate in Global Mental Health from Harvard.