Raine Ikagawa

Raine is a doctoral student in the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Entomology and Insect Science. She graduated from with Honors in Biology from Macalester College, where she studied daddy longlegs spiders. After two years as a library assistant performing STEM outreach, a barista, and, for five weeks, a research assistant in the Ecuadorian Amazon studying arthropod diversity, she earned her M.S. in Entomology and Insect Science from the University of Arizona. Raine's research interests include arthropod phylogeny, biodiversity, and how molecular phylogenies serve as a framework for understanding ecology and evolution. During her PhD program, she will continue to pursue her love of breaking down barriers to higher education and introductory research experiences. Outside of the lab, Raine enjoys reading, hiking, pinning insects, and snuggling with her two cats.