The Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights presents

Immigration &Asylum MedicineSummit

Coming together for care, dignity, and human rights.

Register now Submit an abstract Add to Google Calendar Apple / Outlook (.ics)

SATURDAY

OCTOBER 10, 2026

9:00 AM – 3:30 PM

Weill Auditorium 1300 York Ave, New York, NY 10065
Check-in & breakfast from 8:30 AM

About the Summit

The Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights (WCCHR) is the country's first student-run asylum clinic, now in its 15th year. This is our second Immigration & Asylum Medicine Summit, a one-day conference for student-run asylum clinics, clinician volunteers, and anyone interested in asylum medicine.

Last year's summit brought together over 100 attendees. This year we're adding an Asylum Clinic Town Hall, where clinics compare workflows and discuss shared challenges.

Program

Keynote

Dr. Katherine McKenzie, founder and director of the Yale Center for Asylum Medicine.

Immigration Law Talk

Prof. Beth Lyon of Cornell Law School on recent changes in immigration law and what they mean for asylum clinics.

Career Panel

Physicians who work in asylum medicine talk about their career paths and answer questions.

Poster Session

Student and trainee posters, held over an extended lunch.

Asylum Clinic Town Hall

Small-group discussions by topic, led by members of student-run asylum clinics.

Schedule

Times are subject to change.

8:30 – 9:15

Check-in & breakfastNow

Poster presenters can drop off posters here

Student Hearth

9:15 – 9:30

Welcome & opening remarksNow

Weill Auditorium

9:30 – 10:30

Keynote AddressNow

Katherine C. McKenzie, MD, FACP, Yale Center for Asylum Medicine

Weill Auditorium

10:30

BreakNow

10:40 – 11:30

Immigration Law TalkNow

Beth Lyon, JD, Cornell Law School

Weill Auditorium

11:30 – 12:30

Career PanelNow

Joanne Ahola, MD, DLFAPA; Tara Pilato, MD; additional panelists TBA

Weill Auditorium

12:30 – 2:15

Lunch & Poster SessionNow

Poster presenters at their boards from 1:00

LC 207–210

2:15 – 3:00

Asylum Clinic Town Hall: Small GroupsNow

Led by members of student-run asylum clinics

PBL Rooms A–H

3:00

Coffee breakNow

LC 207–210

3:15 – 3:30

Closing remarksNow

Weill Auditorium

No food or drink in Weill Auditorium.

Speakers

Portrait of Dr. Katherine C. McKenzie

Keynote Speaker

Katherine C. McKenzie, MD, FACP

Founder & Director, Yale Center for Asylum Medicine · Associate Professor, Yale School of Medicine

Dr. McKenzie teaches students and residents and advocates for human rights as a physician. At the Yale Center for Asylum Medicine (YCAM), she performs forensic evaluations of asylum seekers, both at Yale and in detention facilities, for people applying for humanitarian relief in the US. She mentors trainees and clinicians across North America and lectures widely on asylum, detention, and physician advocacy.

Read full bio

She is an expert advisor for Physicians for Human Rights and serves on the boards of the Society for Refugee Healthcare Providers, Project Access New Haven, Physicians for Human Rights, and Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services. She co-founded and co-directs the Society of Asylum Medicine and is a member of the Yale Refugee Health Program.

She has published original research, reviews, clinical case reports, and opinion essays in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, the Annals of Internal Medicine, the Journal of General Internal Medicine, Time, and CNN, among others.

At Yale, she has received the Leonard B. Tow Award for Humanism in Medicine, the Charles W. Bohmfalk Prize for Teaching in the Clinical Sciences, and the Faculty Award for Achievement in Clinical Care. She received the Physicians for Human Rights Award in 2025 and has been named a "Top Doctor" by Connecticut Magazine for many years.

Immigration Law Talk

Beth Lyon, JD

Clinical Professor of Law, Cornell Law School

Read bio

Beth Lyon is a Clinical Professor of Law at Cornell Law School, where she founded the Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic and co-founded the Low-Income Taxpayer Law and Accounting Practicum. Her work focuses on domestic and international migrant and farmworker rights, language access to justice, legal services for rural immigrant communities, and government speech about immigration. She serves on the boards of directors of Justice in Motion and LatCrit.

Professor Lyon received her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her M.S. from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. At Georgetown, she was managing editor of Law and Policy in International Business (now the Georgetown Journal of International Law) and a Ford Foundation Fellow, working in Lima, Peru, for the Comisión Andina de Juristas.

Career Panel

Tara Pilato, MD

Emergency Medicine Global Health Fellow

Read bio

Throughout medical school, Dr. Pilato was involved with the Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights (WCCHR) and served as a Co-Executive Director in 2020. She then took a dedicated research year in the Human Rights Impact Lab, led by WCCHR Co-Medical Director Dr. Kaur, to study disparities in healthcare access among migrants and refugees. She conducted qualitative interviews with asylum seekers, collaborated with human rights clinics across NYC, and has published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of Global Health, and BMJ Open. Now an Emergency Medicine Global Health fellow, she focuses on the complex biopsychosocial barriers that shape health outcomes in displaced communities.

Career Panel

Joanne Ahola, MD, DLFAPA

Psychiatrist; Founding Medical Director, WCCHR

Read bio

Dr. Ahola is a psychiatrist and longtime advocate for asylum seekers and survivors of persecution. She was a founding Medical Director of the Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights. She is a medical expert with Physicians for Human Rights and has served on their Asylum Network as an evaluator, mentor, and trainer since 1999. Her special interests include oral court testimony, one-year bar cases, physician and medical student education, and the mental health needs of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers. She is a co-author and thematic reviewer for the Istanbul Protocol.

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Career Panel

Additional panelists TBA

Register

Event Registration

$15 registration fee

Includes breakfast and lunch. If you can't cover the fee, email wcchr@med.cornell.edu.

Register now

tinyurl.com/wcchrsummit2026

Abstract & Poster Submissions

Due Friday, October 2, 11:59 PM

Submit an abstract to present a poster at the summit. Poster instructions will be emailed to accepted presenters.

Submit an abstract

tinyurl.com/wcchrabstract

Getting Here

1300 York Avenue, at E 69th St.

Photo ID

Bring a photo ID for building security. You must be registered to enter.

Subway

Q to 72 St or 6 to 68 St–Hunter College, then walk east.

Bus

M31 (York Ave), M15 (1st/2nd Ave), M66 or M72 (crosstown).

Check-in

Check in at the Student Hearth. Volunteers will direct you to Weill Auditorium.

FAQ

Who can attend?

The summit is open to students, clinicians, and anyone interested in human rights work. No prior experience in asylum medicine is needed.

Is food provided?

Yes, breakfast and lunch are included. We'll send a dietary restrictions form to registered attendees before the event.

How can my clinic get involved in the Town Hall?

All attendees take part in the small groups. To lead a group or suggest a topic, email wcchr@med.cornell.edu.

Can I submit an abstract if I'm not a student?

Yes. Abstracts are due Friday, October 2 at 11:59 PM.

I can't attend anymore. Can I get a refund?

Email wcchr@med.cornell.edu.