Promotions of Lecturers and Faculty with Modified Titles on the Charles River Campus

From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer

President Brown and I are delighted to announce the promotion of 18 faculty members on the Charles River Campus to the rank of master lecturer; 24 to senior lecturer; one to research professor; three to research associate professor; and two each to the ranks of clinical professor and clinical associate professor.

Each year, as you know, we have the pleasure of recognizing the promotions of talented faculty on the Charles River Campus to the ranks of full and associate professor, as we did most recently on March 3 and September 14. Those promotions are all processed centrally according to a schedule set forth in the Faculty Handbook.

Other faculty colleagues, equally important to our teaching and research mission, have their promotions reviewed in the schools and colleges throughout the academic year. These accomplished educators are among our most devoted teachers, scholars, mentors, and contributors to their schools’ and students’ success. As we begin a new academic year, they are continuing to make important pedagogical advances across a range of diverse fields, from the arts and humanities to the sciences, law, business, and education.

We are delighted to announce the following promotions that took place during the 2021-22 academic year:

Ousama A’amar, ENG, Biomedical Engineering, is an expert in the design and development of advanced electro-optical instrumentation for medical applications, with several publications in the field. He has been a key collaborator on research projects aimed at developing noninvasive clinical diagnostic instrumentation based on optical spectroscopy. Over the last two decades, he has mentored many senior design project teams and master’s degree students working in this area. He has taught several of his college’s courses focused on hands-on engineering and more recently developed (and trained other instructors to teach) the “Introduction to Engineering” course now required for all ENG freshmen. He has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Rachel Abercrombie, CAS, Earth & Environment, is an expert in geophysics. Her scholarly work addresses earthquake mechanics and the use of seismology to measure, model, and further understand the mechanisms involved in earthquakes. She has published numerous widely cited articles in the top geoscience journals and is actively engaged in research funded by the US Geological Service and the National Science Foundation. She has had leadership roles on the Scientific Earthquake Advisory Committee and at the Southern California Earthquake Center and the Seismological Society of America. She was recently elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union. She has been promoted to research professor.

Dustin Allen, Sargent, Health Sciences, is an expert in exercise and cardiovascular physiology. He specializes in integrated autonomic responses to various forms of stress including heat stress, thermoregulatory control during exercise, and autonomic dysfunction. He has been recognized for innovation in applying digital technology in the classroom and for commitment to maximizing student learning outcomes through mentored research. He was recently appointed program director for his college’s programs in human physiology. He has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Leonard “Andy” Andres, CGS, Natural Sciences & Mathematics, is an expert in exercise physiology, nutritional biochemistry, and baseball. He is a frequent lecturer at conferences and at TEDx Boston on biomechanics and statistical analysis of baseball. He taught one of BU’s first MOOC courses on sabermetrics, is a Fenway Park datacaster/digital scorekeeper for mlb.com, and has updated and edited the second edition of Art McGee’s classic book How to Value Players for Rotisserie Baseball (2007). He has been promoted to master lecturer.

Mira Angrist, CAS, World Languages & Literatures, is coordinator of BU’s Hebrew program. She has developed and teaches several language and culture courses and has served as lecturer coordinator in the department to mentor lecturers, facilitated professional development meetings, and raised funds for conference attendance. As an affiliated faculty at the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies, she serves on committees and helps organize cultural events and discussions. She is a member of several professional organizations for foreign language teachers and has presented at multiple international conferences. She has published articles on current issues in language pedagogy. She has been promoted to master lecturer.

Heather Barrett, CAS, Writing Program, teaches writing seminars on topics in 19th century American literature, Gothic fiction, queer theory, and gender and sexuality studies. She also leads the CAS Writing Center, teaches “Tutoring in the Global University,” and mentors the center’s staff of consultants. In 2021, she was the recipient of CAS’s Award for Distinction in First Year Undergraduate Education, as well as a Mentor of the Year award from the Student Employment Office for her work as Writing Center coordinator. She has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Jessica Bozek, CAS, Writing Program, teaches classes on a range of topics at the intersection of poetry and politics. She is the author of two full-length collections of poetry, The Tales (2013) and The Bodyfeel Lexicon (2009), as well as several chapbooks, including How to See the Wind (2018) and Squint into the Sun (2010). Winner of the 2012 NOS Book Contest, The Tales is based largely on the “Reading Disaster” seminar she taught at BU from 2007-2012. She also teaches in the Kilachand Honors College and the Cross College Challenge. She has been promoted to master lecturer.

Aaron Brakoniecki, Wheelock, Mathematics Education, specializes in the preparation of middle school and high school mathematics teachers. His research has focused on pre-service teachers’ mathematical knowledge, and how the use of technology affects that knowledge. Other areas of professional interest include supporting teachers’ uses of technology in their classrooms, the use of concept maps as a formative assessment tool, preservice teachers’ understanding of trigonometry, and the reading of geometric diagrams in mathematics texts. He is the director of the mathematics education program in Wheelock and oversees the Wheelock Education Consortium, which includes representatives from eight districts in Massachusetts. He has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Xin Brown, ENG, Biomedical Engineering, is an expert in molecular cell biology, molecular bioengineering, and advanced engineering laboratory techniques. She has taught biomedical engineering laboratory courses to graduate and undergraduate students and managed the biomedical engineering department’s BioInterface Technologies Facility, which focuses on biomaterial and tissue engineering, since 2006. She has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Jennifer Bryson, Wheelock, Elementary Education, specializes in the preparation of elementary school teachers, with a research focus on the role family literacy projects can play in connecting school and family literacies. She is director of Wheelock’s elementary education program, the liaison between BU and the Trotter School in Boston, and the Wheelock coordinator for BU’s study abroad program. She founded the mentoring program offered to all recent graduates of the elementary education program to support them as they enter their careers. She serves on the board of directors of the Massachusetts Association of Colleges of Teacher Education and has contributed to multiple workgroups in the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Philippe Copeland, SSW, Human Behavior, Research & Policy, is an expert in antiracism education and training, abolition of mass incarceration, health equity, and social movements. He has developed courses on social justice and the Black Lives Matter movement and is a past recipient of the SSW Teaching Excellence Award. He also serves as assistant director of narrative for the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He has been promoted to clinical associate professor.

Todd Czubek, Wheelock, Deaf Studies, is among the nation’s leading scholars in ASL/English bilingual education. His expertise stems from his work as a classroom teacher, school reformer, and teacher-trainer in the Deaf studies program. He works to enhance bilingual programming at schools across the country and has received numerous recognitions for excellence in teaching. His scholarship includes developing instructional resources, supporting access for Deaf children with disabilities, and facilitating communication between families and their Deaf children. He has been promoted to senior lecturer.

María Datel, CAS, Romance Studies, has been teaching Spanish at BU since 1999, serving as course coordinator for first-year, second-year, and third-year courses. She also created advanced language courses with the themes of “Crime Writing,” “Sailing with Darwin to Patagonia,” and “La Frontera/The Border,” an advanced course for heritage speakers. She has taught the romance studies department’s course on language-teaching methodology, is co-organizer of the Second-Language Learning and Disabilities Conference, and is interested in inclusive pedagogy, working to create curricula that represent all students. She has been promoted to master lecturer.

Sean Desilets, CAS, Writing Program, researches and teaches film, religion, queer theory, poststructuralism, and intersectional feminism. He is author of Hermeneutic Humility and the Theology of Cinema: Blind Paul (2017), and his essays have appeared in Camera Obscura, Film Criticism, Literature/Film Quarterly, and Studies in French Cinema. His current book project is titled A Theology of Media: Migration, Expenditure, Revelation. He teaches courses in women’s and gender studies, the Core Curriculum, and the Kilachand Honors College, as well as in the Writing Program. He has been promoted to master lecturer.

Stephen Donweber, LAW, is an expert in federal civil law and legal research studies. He has authored several books on the subjects and spent 10 years as a senior research librarian and adjunct lecturer in LAW before joining the full-time faculty. In 2019, he was the recipient of the Michael Melton Award for Teaching Excellence and the inaugural recipient of the Mark Pettit Teaching Award given to the faculty member voted the third-year class’s favorite instructor. He has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Lilian Duséwoir, CAS, Romance Studies, teaches French and Spanish, has served as course coordinator, and has designed language courses focusing on the graphic novel, gender in cinema, and horror in French film. She is a proponent of student-centered pedagogy and inclusive methods, has been recognized for excellence in mentorship and advising, and has been faculty adviser to the Center for Gender, Sexuality, and Activism and to the French Club. She serves as a faculty-in-residence and is a past winner of the Award for Outstanding Service to BU’s Residence Life. She has been promoted to master lecturer.

Michelle Ehrenreich, Questrom, Marketing, is an expert on management communications. In the business sector, she has coached executives to become more effective leaders and communicators and to create and implement effective growth strategies. As an educator, she has developed communication courses for Questrom undergraduate and graduate students to help them become more persuasive and influential communicators. She has received multiple teaching prizes at Questrom, including the Broderick Award for Outstanding Faculty Contribution to Teaching and the James E. Freeman Leadership Development Award, and is director of Questrom’s communication program. She has been promoted to master lecturer.

Dora Erdos, CAS, Computer Science, teaches introductory and intermediate-level courses in algorithms and data science, including a new course that she co-developed on the foundations of data science. She has advised hundreds of computer science majors and minors, originally as undergraduate program director, and now as director of undergraduate studies in computer science. She has also been instrumental in curriculum revision, including her leadership of efforts to expand and strengthen the introductory course sequence for computer science majors. She is additionally a reviewer for scholarly journals and a program committee member for academic conferences. She has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Catherine Fazio, Questrom, Strategy & Innovation, leverages previous work as an antitrust litigator at the US Department of Justice and at Kirkland & Ellis LLP to help students appreciate legal and public policy challenges for business. She centers her work at the intersection of law, business strategy, and innovation policy and has authored numerous articles in top business publications. She is an accomplished teacher and mentor and currently serves as faculty director of the Questrom MBA Program. She has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Raul Fernandez, Wheelock, Higher Education Administration, is a recognized leader and frequent national conference speaker on issues of diversity and inclusion. He previously served as Wheelock’s associate dean for equity, diversity, and inclusion and co-developed the course “Identity, Inclusion & Social Action.” He is an appointed board member of the Racial Imbalance Advisory Council at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and has been active in the National Association for Student Personnel Administrators for several years, including serving as the regional Latinx knowledge community representative. He has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Aaron Goldberg, CFA, Music, is an educator, arranger, designer, adjudicator, and clinician in drum corps, marching band, and instrumental music, focusing on brass pedagogy. He directs seven music ensembles at BU with an average of 150 performances a year that have been featured in the film Black Mass, at the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall, in rock concerts with Foster the People and the Dropkick Murphys, on nationally televised sports broadcasts, in the Greater Boston community, and on campus in support of University events. In addition, he oversees BU’s chapters of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, teaches a music education special topics course, and is a member of the Crossmen Drum Corps Hall of Fame. He has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Max Greenberg, CAS, Sociology, teaches courses on political sociology, youth and families, and gender. His most recent book, Twelve Weeks to Change a Life: At Risk Youth in a Fractured State (2019), examines the reorganization of state power around short-term grants and fleeting programs. His research has been published in Social Problems, Sociological Perspectives, and International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. He has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Laura Harrington, CAS, Religion, explores the history of Mahayana Buddhism, with a focus on its intersections with politics, art, and material culture. In addition to numerous published journal articles, and book chapters, she is currently working on a book about the impact of covert CIA funding on Buddhism in Cold War America. She additionally teaches as part of CAS’s Core Curriculum program. She has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Mary Hughes, Wheelock, Language & Literacy Education, is an applied linguist who specializes in first and second language acquisition, multilingualism, language education, and minority language revitalization. Dr. Hughes has presented original research at national and international conferences and has published in high impact journals such as the Journal of Pragmatics and Lingua. She is also a board member and the treasurer for the Massachusetts Association of Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages. She has been promoted to senior lecturer.

John Kirks, Questrom, Strategy & Innovation, leads the strategy concentration in the Questrom’s BSBA program and has developed innovative new courses that help prepare students for careers in consulting and investment banking. He has received numerous awards for teaching, including his college’s Broderick Prize for Excellence in Teaching, and his contributions to student mentoring have been recognized with the James E. Freeman Leadership Development Award. He has been promoted to master lecturer.

V. Sophie Klein, CAS, Core Curriculum, focuses on the ways in which themes and devices from Greek and Roman theater pervade and influence other ancient and modern art forms. Her projects have explored Horace’s use of dramatic material in the Sermones and Epistles, the chorus in Sophocles’ Ajax, mute characters in the plays of Plautus and Terence, parallels between Roman comedy and modern television sitcoms, and the similarities between the comedic formulas employed by Greek satyr drama and the American cartoon, Animaniacs. She recently authored a guide to Plautus’ Menaechmi as part of the Bloomsbury Ancient Comedy Companions series. She has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Gwen Kordonowy, CAS, Writing Program, teaches interdisciplinary writing seminars that focus on cultural studies, cultural geography, and migration, as well as the Writing Program’s first upper-level undergraduate course, “Public Writing.” She has also taught literature and writing courses in the English department and the Kilachand Honors College, in addition to courses that prepare graduate writing fellows to teach in the program. Her scholarly interests include cultural studies, genre studies, innovation in the classroom, and public writing. She currently serves as associate director of the Writing Program. She has been promoted to master lecturer.

Katherine Lakin-Schultz, CAS, Romance Studies, is overall coordinator of the French Language Program, and coordinator of fourth-semester French. She has been integral in shaping curriculum and program objectives. Through her scholarship in Francophone African literature and civilization, she seeks to share the diversity of the Francophone world, focusing on the relationship between West Africa and France in her more advanced courses. She frequently presents on campus and at national conferences on best teaching practices, the effective use of technology, and integrating culture in the language classroom. She recently contributed to the publication of Défi Francophone (2022), a new French language textbook. She has been promoted to master lecturer.

Matthew Larson, CFA, Music, specializes in vocal coaching and repertoire. His current and former students can be found on Broadway and in opera houses and theaters worldwide, and he has been resident artist/master clinician at Harvard University, Carnegie-Mellon University, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Eastern Mennonite University, and Wheaton College. In 2020, he received a Grammy Award (Best Opera Recording) for his work on Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. He has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Kari Lavalli, CGS, Natural Sciences & Mathematics, is a marine biologist specializing in anti-predator mechanisms in lobsters. She regularly publishes in peer reviewed journals, presents at national and international conferences, and helped to organize an international conference in 2017. She incorporates undergraduate researchers in her lab and field research in addition to teaching numerous undergraduate natural science courses. She is chair of the Division of Natural Sciences & Mathematics and additionally served as a Learn from Anywhere coach. She has been promoted to master lecturer.

Faith Little, SSW, Human Behavior, Research & Policy, is an expert in aging policy and program evaluation. She served as a faculty coach during the implementation of the University’s Learn from Anywhere model and was recently awarded the Teaching Excellence Award by SSW’s Class of 2022. She has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Karen Pita Loor, LAW, specializes in issues related to immigrants’ rights, criminal law and procedure, and police violence. During her eight years with the Defender Division of the Criminal Law Clinical Program and now in her role as associate dean of clinical and experiential education, she teaches students to examine the obstacles immigrants face in American society through a legal lens. She is a past recipient of both the Dean’s Service Award and the Outstanding Faculty Achievement in Pro Bono Service Award. She has been promoted to clinical professor.

Dawn Belkin Martinez, SSW, is an expert in liberation health theory and practice methods, specializing in family therapy, substance misuse, trauma, anti-oppressive practice, and anti-racism education.  She co-authored the book Social Justice in Clinical Practice: A Liberation Health Framework for Social Work (2014), is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences, and co-founded the Boston Liberation Health Group. She was selected as SSW’s inaugural associate dean for equity and inclusion. Her funded scholarship focuses on community engagement, activism, social justice competencies, and community-based responses to mental health crises. She has been promoted to clinical professor.

Carlos Martinis, CAS, Astronomy, studies the phenomena, processes, and physics in the earth’s high upper atmosphere and ionosphere, connecting to weather and the solar wind. He and collaborators stationed all-sky imagers at “magnetic conjugate” points in the northern and southern hemispheres (points on the earth joined by the same magnetic field line) to obtain powerful data sets for upper atmosphere studies and to provide “ground truth” for NASA satellites. He has been promoted to research associate professor.

Bill McGue, MET, Administrative Sciences, is a certified public accountant with over 30 years of experience in Boston’s financial services industry and teaches finance and accounting courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels. He joined MET in 2006 and serves as his department’s senior director of program administration, advising online and on-campus students and reviewing student standings in the program. He has additionally assisted in the administration of faculty, helping to interview and select new part-time faculty, and mentor them as they grow within the department. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a fellow at the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants. He has been promoted to master lecturer.

Nelia Newell, Questrom, Finance, joined Questrom in 2009 after 20 years in the finance industry and teaches a wide range of undergraduate classes in finance. She has been the coordinator of the introductory finance class offered every semester and has received multiple awards for teaching achievement, including, most recently, the Questrom Award for Institutional Leadership for her work coordinating the transition to remote teaching during the COVID pandemic. She has been promoted to master lecturer.

Robin Newman, Sargent, Occupational Therapy, is an internationally recognized occupational therapist in cancer rehabilitation. Her research and clinical work focus on the late effects of cancer treatments on cognitive function and the supportive care needs of parents who are living with and beyond cancer diagnoses. She is a co-editor of the first comprehensive textbook on cancer rehabilitation for occupational therapy practitioners. She is a fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association, former co-chair of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Oncology Cognitive Rehabilitation Task Force, and an appointee of the Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee. She has been promoted to clinical associate professor.

Greg Page, MET, Administrative Sciences, has been a member of his college’s faculty since 2014, teaching a variety of courses in e-commerce, financial concepts, corporate finance, global supply chains, marketing analytics, and data mining for business analytics. He has been deeply involved with the applied business analytics (ABA) program through program and curriculum development, student advising, and faculty mentorship. He co-developed AD699: “Data Mining for Business,” and overhauled AD654: “Marketing Analytics,” both of which are core courses for the ABA program. He is a major in the United States Army Reserve and a veteran who served in the Iraq / Afghanistan regions. He has been promoted to master lecturer.

Anna Panszczyk, CAS, Writing Program, brings together expertise in writing pedagogy, material culture, art, and children’s literature for a host of writing seminars including “Boston and Children’s Literature,” “American Boyhood,” and “Childhood in Three Disciplines.” Her work has appeared in Children’s Literature Association Quarterly and Women’s Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal. She co-founded the Writing Program’s Collaborative Mentoring Initiative and has published numerous articles on mentoring. She also teaches in the English department and the BU Hub’s Cross-College Challenge. She has been promoted to master lecturer.

Christine Papadakis-Kanaris, CAS, Computer Science, teaches introductory courses in programming and data structures, as well as a graduate-level course that she developed in object-oriented software principles. She has advised hundreds of master’s students in her role as director of master’s studies in computer science. A former software engineer, she is developing a summer bridge program for new master’s students who come from fields other than computer science and is involved in efforts to expand and strengthen the introductory course sequence for computer science majors. She has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Shilpa Parnami, CAS, World Languages & Literatures, has played a significant role in coordinating and giving shape to BU’s Hindi-Urdu program. She teaches language and culture courses on South Asia and has taught in the BU Hub’s Cross-College Challenge. She focuses extensively on pedagogical issues and has received funding from the BU Center for the Humanities for the Boston Area Pedagogy Conference. She is a leader and facilitator for instructors of Hindi around the US and has been a contributor to several STARTALK programs throughout her career. She has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Kelly Polychroniou, CAS, Classical Studies, is a teacher of modern Greek and an advocate for Greek culture and pedagogy in America and abroad. She is the co-founder of the Boston University Philhellenes and leader of CAS’s summer study program in Athens. She is particularly interested in contemporary Greek writers and has co-organized an international conference of Greek women authors and translators to be held on campus during the fall 2022 semester. She has been promoted to master lecturer.

Randi Rotjan, CAS, Biology, has served as a lecturer and research assistant professor in biology since 2016. She employs an array of active and inquiry-based learning strategies in her courses, particularly related to science communication. An expert in global change biology, she specializes in ecological processes governing marine ecosystem structure. At BU, she is a faculty associate at the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future and a faculty affiliate of the Initiative on Cities; externally, she is the co-chief scientist at the Phoenix Islands Protected Area and on the board of directors of the Nature Conservancy Caribbean. She has been promoted to research associate professor.

Malavika Shetty, CAS, Writing Program, brings a background in linguistics and global education to writing seminars for English language learners and on topics related to language and society. An expert in teaching with technology, she uses Wikipedia in her classroom to help develop her students’ research and information literacy skills. She has authored an award-winning children’s book, The Sweetest Mango (2012), and her work has been featured in The Kenyon Review, among a range of publications. She has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Blair Szymczyna, CAS, Chemistry, conducts research at the junction of chemistry, biology, and physics. He teaches the “Principles of General, Organic, and Biochemistry” course series, “Principles of Biochemistry,” “Biochemistry I,” and “Physical Biochemistry” to students interested in pursuing healthcare professions, with the goal of providing the chemical literacy and critical-thinking skills necessary to tackle biochemical problems and communicate results. He has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Ben Varat, CGS, Social Sciences, is a scholar of 20th century US and European history. He has contributed to his division and college by serving on search committees and promotion committees and writing for and editing divisional textbooks. He is a regularly invited lecturer at meetings of historical societies and a frequent book reviewer of new history publications. He has been promoted to master lecturer.

Didem Vardar-Ulu, CAS, Chemistry, is an experimental biophysical chemist, who specializes in protein biochemistry and spectroscopy. She is interested in designing and implementing student-centered, interdisciplinary curricula and novel competency-based assessment strategies in lecture and laboratory chemistry courses. Her current chemistry education projects explore the learning benefits of engaging students in reflective assignments and activities around enhancing visual literacy. She is a two-time Biology and Mathematics Educators fellow, and this year received CAS’s Neu Family Award for Excellence in Teaching. She has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Jim Welch, Questrom, Finance, joined Questrom in January 2015, after a career in capital markets and asset management, including nearly 25 years at JP Morgan Chase. He has taught several graduate and undergraduate classes in finance and, for the last two years, has been the advisor of the finance undergraduate concentration, leading a substantial review of the concentration’s curriculum. Last year, he received Questrom’s James B. Freeman Award for Leadership Development. He has been promoted to senior lecturer.

Lesley Yoder, CAS, Writing Program, brings expertise in language acquisition, visual rhetoric, and French to the Writing Program’s full sequence of English language learner (ELL) and non-ELL courses, with writing seminars focused on graphic memoirs, topics of translation, immigration, and creativity and madness. Other research interests include visual literacy and graphic narratives, drawing to learn, 19th century French literature and the figure of the poète maudit, and self-writing and the journal intime. She has been promoted to master lecturer.

Meryem Yücel, ENG, Biomedical Engineering, is an expert in functional near infrared spectroscopy for measuring human brain function. She has published over 40 papers on the topic and garnered international recognition for leadership in the field and for the training of hundreds of researchers in the use of the technology in cognitive and clinical science applications. She has been promoted to research associate professor.

Please join us in congratulating these very talented faculty members on their promotions. Through their commitment to their work, their students, and their respective fields of study, they – and you – continue to exemplify the very best Boston University has to offer as a laboratory for discovery and training ground for future leaders.

Promotions of Lecturers and Faculty with Modified Titles on the Charles River Campus – 9.20.22

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