Brandon Kohrt

Brandon Kohrt, MD/PhD student in Anthropology and the School of Medicine

Emory University provides a unique opportunity to pursue graduate studies in the social sciences and a medical education. I chose to pursue MD-PhD training at Emory because of this collaborative educational environment combined with the resources of the Emory Institute of Human Rights and other Atlanta-based organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Carter Center, and CARE. My academic and outreach goal is the promotion of health through championing human rights. While traveling abroad during my undergraduate education, I was struck by how the violation of human rights profoundly damages health and overall quality of life. Through my studies in anthropology and medicine at Emory, I hope to find ways to improve the health of populations in need by challenging human rights violations.

Before coming to Emory, my work focused on foreign settings.  In Mongolia I studied the mental health consequences of a transitioning economy and the loss of universalized healthcare and employment. Through a Fulbright Fellowship in Nepal, I studied the prevalence of mental health in a rural community and observed the beginnings of human rights violations in the conflict between government security forces and Maoist activists. Since being at Emory I have been able to reach out to the international community in a local context.

Each year more than 700 men, women, and children come to Atlanta seeking political asylum. Many of these people have suffered imprisonment and torture in their home countries. They come to Atlanta and other cities in the United States seeking to start a new life free from fear of persecution. Unfortunately, without documented evidence of their torture or threats to their lives, these individuals are not able to remain in the United States and are often deported. 

Physicians, psychologists, and health professionals in other U.S. cities have been able to help asylum seekers by providing medical documentation of the physical and psychological effects of torture. Their evaluations and testimony have allowed survivors of torture to obtain asylum. Prior to 2003, there was no organized group of health professionals providing these services in Atlanta. As a consequence, federal judges approved only three percent of asylum cases. That year, together with Physicians for Human Rights and the Emory Institute of Human Rights, we formed the Atlanta Asylum Network. The health professionals of the Atlanta Asylum Network provide free evaluations and testimony for survivors of torture in Atlanta. Thanks to the work of the Asylum Network, many more individuals are now able to remain in the U.S.

The Atlanta Asylum Network illustrates the unique ways that Emory allows graduate students like myself to combine local outreach with a top-quality education. The lessons learned through my involvement with the Asylum Network are the foundation of my doctoral dissertation work with torture survivors in Nepal. To complete my PhD in anthropology, I will be working at the Nepali Center for Victims of Torture. I will spend a year examining the effects of political violence on mental health. Through the research in Nepal and local activities with the Atlanta Asylum Network, I hope to improve the health and human rights of the individuals most in need.

Brandon Kohrt, recipient of the 2005 Navin Narayan Award from the Physicians for Human Rights, is a fifth-year graduate student, working toward an MD/PhD degree in Emory’s Department of Anthropology and the School of Medicine. He is traveling in Nepal this year to provide clinical care for survivors of torture and conduct medical anthropology research addressing human rights violations in the ongoing conflict between government security forces and Maoists.


Learn More About:

Brandon Kohrt’s Research

Emory’s Department of Anthropology

Institute of Human Rights at Emory University

Atlanta Asylum Network

Physicians for Human Rights

Navin Narayan Award

Stories of Survival: Asylum Seekers in America – Physicians for Human Rights