Ivan struggled with focusing on a research area but found his research at the intersection of his two areas of passion biology and astronomy and landed an amazing postdoc at NASA.
Ivan is a postdoctoral fellow at the NASA Ames Research Center. His research is related to the evolution of radiation resistance in organisms. To learn more about Ivan and his research visit his NASA profile page.

Biggest Struggle

Focusing on one area of interest.

Worst Moment

Not having a good relationship with his adviser.

Best Moment

Getting into his PhD program.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit:  To do lists to manage tasks
Book:   Faster Than the Speed of Light: The Story of a Scientific Speculation by Joao Magueijo
Productivity Tool: Mendeley
Best Advice:  Respect your results.
Hobbies:  Soccer, bike, watch m ovies, and play chess
Alternative PhD study:  Astronomy

Contact Information and Resources

Email: ivan.g.paulinolima@nasa.gov
Facebook

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Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

028: Ivan struggled with focusing on a research area but found his research at the intersection of his two areas of passion biology and astronomy and landed an amazing postdoc at NASA.

Richard was persistent in finishing his PhD and obtaining a tenure track research professor position!
Dr. Richard Prather is an assistant professor at the University of Maryland in the Departmet of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology. To learn more about Richard and his research visit his website.

Biggest Struggle

Figuring out what he wanted to do after finishing his PhD.

Worst Moment

The time period during his fourth year where his research wasn't going as fast as he hoped.

Best Moment

Becoming the expert on professional development among the graduate students in his department.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit:  Persistence
Book:  The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Productivity Tool: Mendeley
Best Advice:  Read the Chronicle of Higher Education
Hobbies:  Hanging out with his kids and playing french horn
Alternative PhD study:  Math

Contact Information and Resources

Email: dakob@usgs.gov
Twitter

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Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

027: Richard was persistent in finishing his PhD and obtaining a tenure track research professor position!

Denise struggled with self confidence but landed her perfect job as a researcher at the US Geological Survey. 
Denise is a geomicrobiologist at the USGS! Her research focuses on how microorganisms impact their environment and biogeochemical cycles and how the environment impacts microorganisms. To learn more about Denise you can visit her USGS profile page.

Biggest Struggle

She struggled with having confidence in herself.

Worst Moment

When she was in the process of switching between labs she felt like she was going to be done with science.

Best Moment

Her defense because it is when everything came together.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit:  Being really organized and thinking creatively
Book: (1) Aquatic Geomicrobiology  (2) Brock Biology of Microorganisms
Productivity Tool: Google Calendar
Best Advice:  Always think about all the scales at which your process interacts and don't put on blinders and just focus on the scale you are looking at for your study
Hobbies:  Sew, knit, cooking, exercise, and gardening
Alternative PhD study:   Art

Contact Information and Resources

Email: dakob@usgs.gov
Twitter

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Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

026: Denise struggled with self confidence but landed her perfect job as a researcher at the US Geological Survey.

Leah is the supervising scientist of education and public engagement at NEON. Her research involves remote sensing and data informatics. To learn more about Leah take a look at her profile on the neon website

Biggest Struggle

She struggled with time management and work life balance because she worked full time during graduate school.

Worst Moment

She failed her initial dissertation proposal defense.

Best Moment

Her defense.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit:  Scheduling and time management
Book:  Blogs specifically the rOpenSci blog
Productivity Tool: Evernote and Wunderlist
Best Advice:  Get out of your bubble and network!
Hobbies:  Climbing, hiking, and anything outdoors
Alternative PhD study:  Data Science

Contact Information and Resources

Email: lwasser@neoninc.org
rOpenSci
Twitter
Neon Data skills workshops
Data Carpentry

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Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

025: Leah overcame failing her first oral proposal defense to find work she loves at NEON

Jennifer overcame her nervous voice during presentation to land an amazing job co-managing multiple programs at the National Science Foundation.
Jennifer is the co-manager of the National Science Foundation's Petrology and Geochemistry Program and she co-manages the GeoPRISMS Program.

Biggest Struggle

She has a wobbly uncertain voice when she gives a presentation.

Worst Moment

She failed her first round of written exams.

Best Moment

Having a friend using a separate method actually end up producing a map that ground-truthed her results and vice versa.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit:  Taking good notes!
Book:  Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
Productivity Tool: To do lists
Best Advice:  There is life after grad school and it is different and wonderful.
Hobbies:  Biking, baking, and photography.
Alternative PhD study:  Marine Biologist

Contact Information and Resources

Email: volcanojw@gmail.com
Twitter

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Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

024: Jennifer overcame her nervous voice during presentation to land an amazing job co-managing multiple programs at the National Science Foundation.

Vivian overcame her struggles with work life balance to choose a career that brought her closer to her family and the lifestyle she wanted to live while still pursuing her passion for science.
Vivian is a freelance writer and contractor for the National Cancer Institute's Office of Communications. She is part of a team in charge of maintaining, writing, and editing the NCI Cancer Currents Blog. To learn more about Vivian check out her website.

Biggest Struggle

Managing work life balance and stress/depression.

Worst Moment

Having her adviser be disappointed in her candidacy exam even though she passed.

Best Moment

Getting a much needed piece of equipment from her adviser shortly after she realized it would make her experiment faster and easier.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit: Keeping detailed notes on her experiments and what she was thinking every morning for 15 to 30 minutes.
Book:  Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis by Joan Bolker
Productivity Tool: Gmail and Google Calendar
Best Advice:  Enjoy the freedom that comes from being a grad student!
Hobbies:  Running, swimming, riding horses, and spending time outside.
Alternative PhD study:  Statistics because you can use it to answer many research questions.

Contact Information and Resources

Email: vcallier@gmail.com
Twitter
Website
NCI Cancer Currents Blog

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Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

023: Vivian overcame her struggles with work life balance to choose a career that brought her closer to her family and the lifestyle she wanted to live while still pursuing her passion for science.

Justin struggles with perfectionism but doesn't let that stop him from doing work he loves and that matters. He made connections that helped him land the position he wanted in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Justin is a research geophysicist and deputy chief of the USGS Induced Seismicity Project. His current research is focused on human induced earth quakes. To learn more about Justin and his work at the USGS check out his webpage.

Biggest Struggle

Perfectionism, always needing to do more.

Worst Moment

Left his poster at airport security on the way to his first conference.

Best Moment

Getting asked for advice by some of the top scientists in his field.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit: Putting in time before a talk to practice and prep it.
Book:  Two articles: Scrutiny of the Abstract and Scrutiny of the Introduction.
Productivity Tool: To do lists and a reference manager (Mendeley)
Best Advice:  Stop talking about and just write it.
Hobbies:  Being outdoors, biking, running, skiing, triathlons, and cooking.
Alternative PhD study:  Food Science.

Contact Information and Resources

Email: jrubinstein@usgs.gov
UCLA Food Science Blog

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Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

022: Justin struggles with perfectionism but doesn't let that stop him from doing work he loves and that matters.

Valerie is internationally known speaker and expert on imposter syndrome. She has written multiple books on impostor syndrome and finding work you love. She is also the founder of changingcourse.com an online resource for people who want to make a living doing what they love. To learn more about Valerie visit her website.
Valerie overcame her struggles with imposter syndrome and procrastination to go on to become an international speaker and author. Listen to her journey.

Biggest Struggle

Finding a dissertation topic that would make a difference and procrastination.

Worst Moment

Her adviser told her that she needed to make significant changes to her dissertation after 2 other committee members said it was good.

Best Moment

Finishing her dissertation.

Contact Information and Resources

Twitter
Website
Changing Course

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Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

021: Valerie overcame her struggles with imposter syndrome and procrastination to go on to become an international speaker and author.

Ed realized that his research didn't lend itself to large grants that are required to be hired at an R1 university. He used this to his advantage to learn what it took to become a consultant for higher education.
Ed is a senior director with the Education Advisory Board and serves as their leading expert in student success and retention. To learn more about ED and the Education Advisory Board check out their website.

Biggest Struggle

Comparing himself to peers that went into careers after undergrad and watching their lives move forward.

Worst Moment

He didn't really have a worst moment.

Best Moment

Finishing and realizing that he was one of the experts on his small topic area of specialization.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit: A really high motor meaning he put 100% effort into a task.
Book:  The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte
Productivity Tool: Mobile Email
Best Advice:  Received too much good advice to pick one thing!
Hobbies:  Athletics, rugby, dabbling in the stock market, going to museums, and reading fiction.
Alternative PhD study:  Economics

Contact Information and Resources

Email: Ed.Venit@gmail.com
Website

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Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

020: Ed realized that his research didn't lend itself to large grants that are required to be hired at an R1 university. He used this to his advantage to learn what it took to become a consultant for

Emily overcame doubts about her ability to be a scientist to ultimately be an amazing science communicator using her skills and passion to the fullest. Listen to her talk about her grad school experience and life as a freelance science communicator and educator.
Dr. Emily Grossman is a science communicator and teacher. She works with students and organizations to get and keep students interested in science, especially girls. This passion stems from her personal experiences and stories. You can find many examples of her work and learn much more about Emily at her website.

Biggest Struggle

Having to deal with the self-doubt that came with being one of the only women in the physics degree at her university.

Worst Moment

Realizing that she didn't love the research side of science but loved explaining science to others.

Best Moment

Realizing that she had a great love and passion for explaining science and was really great at it.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit: Looking after her body, soul, and spirit.
Book:  (1) The Forty Rules of Love: A novel of Rumi by Elif Shafak (2) anything by Ian McEwan.
Productivity Tool: Taking time to be in nature and waiting until she is ready to really work on the task before starting it.
Best Advice:  Whatever thy hand findith to do, do it with thy might.
Hobbies:  Dancing, yoga, meditation, being in nature, traveling, and listening to live music.
Alternative PhD study:  She would love to study psychology .

Contact Information and Resources

Twitter
Website

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Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

019: Emily overcame doubts about her ability to be a scientist to ultimately be an amazing science communicator using her skills and passion to the fullest.

Juan struggled with being the only African American PhD student but used this to build a network and expand his way of thinking by interacting with people from many other backgrounds. He credits this with improving the way that he thinks and works.
Juan is the Andrew Banks Family Preeminence Endowed Professor and Chair of the Computer & Information Science & Engineering Department at the University of Florida where he leads the Human-Experience Research Lab.

Biggest Struggle

Isolation, he was the only African American PhD student in computer science in the department and  in the country at the time.

Worst Moment

His adviser left the university and he ended up switching to a different university.

Best Moment

Finishing but also getting the opportunity to go to a new school and work on a new project after his adviser left the university.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit: Curiosity and the drive to find answers.
Book:  Read a CV of someone that you want to have a similar job to.
Productivity Tool: Google Calendar, group meeting account, email, and other technology.
Best Advice:  Don't give up, just keep going!
Hobbies:  Exercise, watch movies and hangout with the family, and fish
Alternative PhD study:  He

Contact Information and Resources

Twitter
Website

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Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock 

018: Juan overcame isolation as a graduate student to ultimately build a fantastic network of friends and become the chair of his department at the University of Florida

David overcame a sub-par performance during his candidacy exam to go on to not only overcome the weakness seen during the exam but to land an amazing assistant research professor position. 
David is an Assistant Research Professor at Auburn University. His research focuses on how humans affect wildlife populations and habitats. He is passionate about educating the public about wildlife ecology and conservation. To learn even more about David and his research visit the about page of his blog.

Biggest Struggle

Realizing that he had a lot to prove as a graduate student to show that he was making progress towards a project.

Worst Moment

Having his committee not completely pleased with his candidacy exam.

Best Moment

Having everything come together during his dissertation defense and having an enjoyable conversation with his committee.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit: Being interested and passionate about what he is doing.
Book:  (1) Jaguar: One Man's Struggle to Establish the World's First Jaguar Preserve by Alan Rabinowitz  (2) Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Productivity Tool: To do lists and a calendar
Best Advice:  You should be comfortable going outside of your comfort zone.
Hobbies:  Being outside, camping, hanging out with friends, and working out.
Alternative PhD study:  He wouldn't have been a scientist at all. Possibly a rock god or a first mate on a fishing boat.

Contact Information and Resources

Twitter
Blog

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Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

017: David overcame a difficult candidacy exam to land an amazing position as an assistant research professor

Jia is an assistant professor in the Ecology department and Montana State University. Her research focuses on plant ecophysiology. To learn more about her and her research check out her lab website, which is amazing and well worth checking out both in terms of interesting research and visually appealing design. Listen to her graduate school story that led her to a tenure track professor position.

Biggest Struggle

Knowing what is enough to finish. You want a study that tells a great story but doesn't take forever.

Worst Moment

Installing her field equipment (sap flow sensors) backwards which meant she lost almost an entire seasons of data plus the winter that she had spent making them.

Best Moment

Receiving the National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DDIG)

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit: Joined a writing group that forced her to write every week.
Book:  The Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology by Terry Chapin.
Productivity Tool: To do lists: long-term, weekly, and daily.
Best Advice:  You need to be confident in yourself.
Hobbies: Skiing and spending time with her kids.
Alternative PhD study:  Soil science.

Contact Information and Resources

Twitter
Email: jia.hu02@montana.edu
Lab Website

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Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

016: Jia overcame losing a field seasons worth of data to finish her dissertation and ultimately land her dream job

Sydney overcame lack of motivation and follow through to become the arctic policy lead for the US Department of State. Listen to her describe methods that helped her finish her PhD and land a career she loves.
Sydney is a foreign affairs officer at the US Department of State and a AAAS Fellow. She handles the arctic energy portfolio within the department.

Biggest Struggle

Follow through after becoming ABD.

Worst Moment

Giving a less than stellar group meeting presentation and having a fight with her adviser that lead to feelings of impostor syndrome.

Best Moment

Fixing her broken piece of equipment that had not been working for 7 months.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit: To do lists
Book:  The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Productivity Tool: To do lists on paper
Best Advice: From a graduating grad student: I did it and you will too.
Hobbies: Hiking, running, being outside, and reading.
Alternative PhD study: Lemur biologist

Contact Information and Resources

Twitter

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015: Sydney overcame lack of motivation and follow through to become the arctic policy lead for the US Department of State

Raul Pacheco-Vega combined his passion for education and research to land a job that allowed him to live close to his family and friends. He shares his experience and advice for students on how to find work that you enjoy.
Raul is an assistant professor in the Public Administration Division of the Center for Economic Research and Teaching, CIDE, in Aguascalientes, Mexico. His primary research interest is in understanding the factors that contribute to cooperation in natural resource governance. He is also the associate editor of the Journal of Environmental Sciences and Studies and is the founder of the Twitter #scholarsunday. You can learn more about Raul on his blog.

Biggest Struggle

Being able to focus and trying to do to many things.

Worst Moment

Breaking up with his boyfriend. Being in a good place emotionally is very important.

Best Moment

Dissertation defense and getting great feedback from his adviser.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit: Daily writing habit and procrastinating on purpose
Book:  Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success by Wendy Laura Belcher
Productivity Tool: Reference managers currently using Mendeley. Also uses Evernote and Google calendar.
Best Advice: (1) Wake up every morning and start writing (2) Everyday read something at the beginning of the day to get your brain going (3) Take at least 1 day off a week (4) Focus on making your dissertation done because the best dissertation is a done dissertation (5) To be a good academic but also a good human being.
Hobbies: Volleyball, dancing, tennis, playing piano, and going to concerts
Alternative PhD study: Chemical Engineer

Contact Information and Resources

Twitter
Raul's Blog
Happy PhD
Jenifer Polk Interview and website
Lisa Munro
Higher Ed jobs Twitter
Jobs AC UK Twitter

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014: Raul Pacheco-Vega combined his passion for education and research to land a job that allowed him to live close to his family and friends

Jessica struggled with overcame imposter syndrom to get land a prestigious postdoc at the USGS. Listen to how she did it and her method for managing work life balance.
Jessica is a Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow at the U.S. Geological Survey, researching stratovolcano hydrorothermal systems and how they affect volcano stability. She received her PhD in Geology from the University of Buffalo. Learn more about Jessica on her blog.

Biggest Struggle

 Impostor syndrome.

Worst Moment

Having a really bad first committee meeting.

Best Moment

Being able to provide equipment to researchers in Guatemala by connecting them with a non-profit.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit: Documentation
Book: Who's Afraid of Marie Curie?: The Challenges Facing Women in Science and Technology by Linley Erin Hall
Productivity Tool: Google Calendar
Best Advice:  Not taking criticism personally
Hobbies: Playing Violin, hiking, camping, and cooking
Alternative PhD study: Archaeology

Contact Information and Resources

Twitter
Jessica's Blog: Magma Cum Laude
email: magmacumlaude@gmail.com

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013: Jessica Ball defeated her imposter syndrome to land the prestigious postdoc she wanted.

Kaitlyn landed her dream NGO job at RMI immediately after graduate school. She made connections within the Association of Women Engineers and made herself a more well rounded candidate by getting involved in Science Communication.
 
Kaityln is an associate scientist at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). She has her PhD in electrical engineering from Michigan Technical University. Her research within RMI focuses on electrical micro grids in the Caribbean.

Biggest Struggle

 Being in charge of designing her own work .

Worst Moment

Taking the written qualifying exam.

Best Moment

Winning the first place poster award in her graduate research colloquium at her university  .

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit: Being organized
Book: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink
Productivity Tool: Asana and Google Calendar
Best Advice: To go for my PhD if that is what I wanted to do.
Hobbies: Road and mountain biking, hiking, and riding off road motor cycles.
Alternative PhD study: Biomedical Engineering

Contact Information and Resources

Twitter
Rocky Mountain Institute
Society of Women Engineers
Daniel Pink Ted Talk

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012: Kaitlyn Bunker landed her dream NGO position at Rocky Mountain Institute immediately after graduate school.

In addition to being a stellar (pun intended) astrophysicist, Katie Mack is a popular science communicator and writer.  Listen to Katie's worst and best moments as a graduate student, and her advice for current graduate students.
Katie is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Melbourne in the Astrophysics Group. She has an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award to fund her research. She is active in online science communication and science outreach.
Visit rockyourresearch.com for more information!

Contact Information and Resources

Twitter @AstroKatie 
Email: contact@astrokatie.com

 

011: Katie Mack pursues her academic career and a passion for science communication.

Ted leveraged his knowledge of computer programming and data management, gained while an ecology grad student, to become a data scientist. Listen to Ted's journey from ecology to Silicon  Valley!
Ted is a data scientist at a large company in Silicon Valley (he is not officially allowed to disclose what company he works for). He has a PhD in environmental biology from the University of Vermont. He has worked as a staff scientist at the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) prior to taking his current position.

Biggest Struggle

 Needing to work and find his own funding in order to pay for his research.

Worst Moment

Having a paper sent out for revision at Science but then getting rejected.

Best Moment

Receiving his NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DDIG).

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit: Coding, data management, and writing good commit messages
Book: (1) Doing Data Science: Straight Talk from the Frontline by Cathy O'Neil (2) An Introduction to Statistical Learning: with Applications in R by Garath James (3) Elements of Statistical Learning: Data Mining, Inference, and Prediction
Productivity Tool: Git, GitLab, and GitHub
Best Advice:Learn R
Hobbies: Trail running, and if time permits skiing and rock climbing
Alternative PhD study: Economics

Contact Information and Resources

Twitter
Software Carpentry
Blog post on the tension between skill building and doing good research
Simply Statistics
Stanford online course
John Hopkins Coursera

Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

010: From Ecology to Silicon Valley--Ted Hart found work he loved in industry

Hannah struggled with motivation while finishing her dissertation, but she developed techniques to complete her PhD. Listen to her share her grad school story and how she became a postdoc.
Hannah is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She has a PhD in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Her focus is on how landscape structure and management practices affect local native bees. To learn more about Hannah visit her about page.

Biggest Struggle

 Finding motivation while ABD due to lack of structure in her schedule.

Worst Moment

Going through 6 rounds of revisions on her first publication.

Best Moment

Her dissertation defense and having it feel like a conversation among peers.

Mindful Minutes Segment

Habit: Figuring out how to get to her goals once she identifies them.
Book: Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath
Productivity Tool: Pomodoro technique (setting a timer for a task and then staying focused until the timer goes off)
Best Advice:(1) Ask questions, it never hurts to ask questions. (2) Acquire skills to build your toolbox
Hobbies: Baking, sewing, knitting, gardening, cycling, curling, hunting, and camping
Alternative PhD study: Anthropology

Contact and links to resources mentioned

Email: hgaines@gmail.com
Hannah's blog post on staying motivated while ABD.

Intro and Outro Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music - Happy Rock

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