Consortium
A Multi-Disciplinary Research Consortium
The Liminality Consortium comprises academic institutions, civil society, grassroots organizations, international bodies, UN agencies, and other humanitarian actors. Our consortium unites multidisciplinary researchers specializing in forced migration, gender studies, sexual and reproductive health, and public health. Committed to an intersectional feminist approach, we aim to redress power imbalances among researchers, civil society, and affected communities across countries. Through our research findings, we aspire to fuel activism, influence policy and practice, promote gender equality and health equity, and contribute to the pursuit of social justice. The Liminality Research Consortium is hosted and coordinate by the Gender Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland.

Our Core Research Team

Shirin Heidari
Principal Investigator and Coordinator
Senior Researcher, Gender Centre
Geneva Graduate Institute

Monica Adhiambo Onyango
Co-Investigator
Clinical Associate Professor, Global Health, Boston University, School of Public Health

Jinan Usta
Lead Investigator – Lebanon
Associate Professor, Family Medicine
American University of Beirut

Ryan Whitacre
Postdoctoral Researcher
Research Associate
Gender Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute

Thanasis Tyrovolas
Lead Investigator – Greece
Project Manager, Proposal Writer, and Bid Manager
KMOP Social Action and Innovation Centre

Rose Nelson
Research Assistant
Gender Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute

Sara Achik
Project Assistant
Geneva Graduate Institute
Past Research Consortium Members: Aida Essaid, Hala Abu Taleb, Meriç Çağlar Chesley, Vinh-Kim Nguyen
Past Research and Project Assistants: Anja Natalina Haller, Atwa Jaber, Kailin Large, Melissa Cigdem Coyle, Shilan Masroor, Maya Sopory, Laurie Yousman, and Aesha Rajan.
Advisory Group
Alessandro Monsutti, Professor and researcher, Department of Sociology & Anthropology at the Geneva Graduate Institute
Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair for Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts and Professor of Languages and Intercultural Studies at the University of Glasgow
Allen G.K. Maina, Head Public Health Unit, UNHCR
Angeliki Serafeim, Consultant, Ministry of Migration and Asylum – Greece
Artemis Akbary, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Afghan LGBTQ Organization
Bertho Makso, Executive Director, Proud Lebanon
Catrin Schulte-Hillen, Specialist in Sexual and Reproductive Health in Emergencies (SRHiE)
Eirene Chen, Independent Advisor on LGBTIQ+ Forced Displacement
Elina Karagiorgi, Ministry of Migration and Asylum – Greece
Eva Gashi, General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons, MoMA Greece
Farah Abdi, Transgender Europe
Irene Molioti, Vulnerbility Officer, General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection, EUAA
Jakob Keel, Queer Amnesty
Kemal Ordek, Programme Analyst, Protection, United Nations Population Fund Türkiye, UN GLOBE Türkiye Co-coordinator
Nadia Badran, Executive Director & President of the Social Workers’ Syndicate in Lebanon
Nadine Cornier, Head of the Response and Technical Support Unit (RTSU), Humanitarian Response Division, UNFPA
Nelly Staderini, Reproductive Health Advisor in the Medical Department of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
Rachael LeClear, Executive Director at Safe Place International
Suma Abdelsamie, Independent Expert and Interim Director, Transgender Europe
Veloshnee Govender, PhD Scientist, World Health Organization (WHO)
Zeynep Pınar Erdem, Researcher at MOSAIC Mena and PhD Candidate at the University of Bremen, Institute for Intercultural and International Studies