Will Jaffe joins PHR as the University of Chicago Aizik Wolf Fellow, providing support to PHR’s medical and research directors. He is responsible for conducting research on implementation of the UN Istanbul Protocol, international human rights law relevant for PHR program areas, conflict zones in Ukraine, and the health and human rights effects of U.S. laws and policies. He also helps provide program assistance and assists in communications and advocacy related to his assigned program areas.
Jaffe brings to PHR a research background in conflict onset and mediation. He previously served as a research assistant in the University of Chicago Transitional Justice and Democratic Stability Lab, studying how nations in Latin America and Europe recovered from periods of civil war and authoritarianism to build healthy democracies. He also interned at PHR under the medical director from 2021-2022, providing research assistance on the new edition of the Istanbul Protocol and attacks against peaceful protestors in Belarus. He helped develop training materials to train clinicians in Istanbul Protocol-based medico-legal evaluations in Belarus. Jaffe also developed informational and training materials on the updated 2022 Istanbul Protocol. Prior to this, he interned at Breakthrough New York, where he researched and organized partnerships with educational organizations in the New York area.
Jaffe graduated cum laude with a BA in Political Science from the University of Chicago.