Natalia Tamirisa is a Mission Chief for Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and the United Arab Emirates at the International Monetary Fund. She worked previously as an Assistant to the Director of the Research Department at the International Monetary Fund, where she covered issues related to the assessment of systemic risks to the global financial system and economy. Her research interests include the economics of international capital flows and financial crises and economic forecasting. She holds a Ph.D. in international economics from the University of Hawaii.