Maminirina  Randrianandrasana, is from Madagascar, and she is currently conducting dissertation research in her home country for a PhD in Entomology.  She has a Masters in Entomology from both the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar and the University of Illinois.  Her research focuses on the ecology of new wild silk moth species in rainforests of Madagascar in order to improve silk moth rearing and silk production.  She is working with Professor May Berenbaum and a nonprofit organization, Conservation through Poverty Alleviation International.  The organization promotes conservation by developing markets that require maintaining local forests and natural resources.  Maminirina’ s research “is aimed both at enhancing environmental protection and the economic security of women in Madagascar in that developing methods for sustainable wild silk production not only provides incentives for forest resource conservation but also provides raw materials for the production by women of textiles and yarns, thereby contributing to economic stability and security for families.”  She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship, an Earth watch Fellowship and a Tropical Biology Association Fellowship as well as a national award from the North American Benthological Society.