Leyla Ismayilova

Professor Ismayilova specializes in the development and adaptation of family-based interventions to improve child well-being in the international context and has been involved in international research projects in sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, and the former Soviet Union. Prof. Ismayilova is a member of the World Health Organization/WHO's Guideline Development Group (GDG) for parenting programs to prevent child maltreatment and promote positive development in children aged 0-17 years. 

Her research agenda focuses on developing culturally congruent interventions to improve mental health functioning and reduce risk behaviors (e.g., substance use) and exposure to violence among at-risk children and youth. To address social determinants, Professor Ismayilova is also interested in integrating economic empowerment strategies in mental health preventive interventions with at-risk children and their families. She is the Principal Investigator (PI) on the R01 study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under the Global Brain and Nervous System Disorders Research Across the Lifespan initiative. The study is aiming to adapt and test which of the three different evidence-based approaches could better assist children reintegrating from institutions with their families in Azerbaijan:

1. a multiple family group intervention helping families strengthen their supportive parenting skills and understand the role of trauma in managing child behavioral problems;
2. screening and linkage to child mental health services, and
3. an asset-based economic program providing Child Matched Savings Accounts to help their families save for education, housing, or small business start-ups.

The study is using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) to compare different intervention components and identify the most optimal combination. She has also served as the PI on a cluster-randomized clinical trial funded by the Network of European Foundations (NEF) evaluating combined economic empowerment and family-focused intervention to prevent violence against children and exploitation of children in ultra-poor communities in Burkina Faso. 

She is also incorporating digital technologies in the delivery of preventive interventions to engage youth and assure intervention fidelity and cost-effectiveness of interventions. Professor Ismayilova has implemented a pilot R34 study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The study developed and tested a digital family-based intervention designed to reduce sexual and drug-related risks among at-risk adolescents living in communities highly affected by heroin trade and use in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 

At The Crown Family School she is teaching courses in applied clinical research, global social work, and program evaluation in international settings. She has previously taught at Columbia University and New York University (NYU) Schools of Social Work. In teaching international development classes, she builds on her field experiences ranging from violence prevention programs in war-torn areas of Northern Uganda to child development programs for Iraqi refugees in Jordan.