Dr. Akram Umarov is the Deputy Director of the IAIS and an Associate professor of International Relations at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy. Dr. Umarov has a great interest in security studies, conflict management, public diplomacy, Afghanistan, Central Asian studies, CIS countries and development. Before joining IAIS, Dr. Umarov was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the Center for Governance and Markets, University of Pittsburgh in the United States, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies and Academy of Public Administration under the President of Uzbekistan. Dr. Akram Umarov has earned an MA and PhD in International Relations from the University of World Economy and Diplomacy. He also received an MA degree in Governance, Development and Public Policy from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex in the United Kingdom.