Science 14Feb2020

providing access to mental health coaching,
and implementing supportive organi-
zational policies. Professors, principal
investigators, and peers should encourage
students and fellow scientists to focus on
factual evidence regarding their academic
performance and to set realistic expecta-
tions. Open discussions about imposter
syndrome at the institutional level should
put a name to these feelings and normal-
ize them as common experiences rather
than pathologizing them ( 3 ). Group peer
mentoring can allow mentees to gradu-
ally transition into mentors, building their
self-confidence as they become indepen-
dent scientists ( 12 ). Institutions should
provide training for mentors to help them
recognize the negative consequences of
the imposter syndrome. Finally, outreach
programs to high schools should make
students aware of imposter syndrome to
help them identify and overcome it as they
pursue their own education and careers.

George P. Chrousos^1 * and Alexios-Fotios Mentis2,3

(^1) University Research Institute of Maternal and
Child Health & Precision Medicine, and UNESCO
Chair on Adolescent Health Care, National and
Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Aghia Sophia”
Children’s Hospital, Athens, Greece.^2 Public Health
Laboratories, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens,
Greece.^3 Laboratory of Microbiology, University
Hospital of Larissa, School of Medicine, University
of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece.
Corresponding author.
Email: [email protected]
Fossil records show that the koala spe-
cies (Phascolarctos cinereus) is about 30
million years old ( 1 ). Koalas are robust—
the species has persisted in part because
it has evolved to metabolize and excrete
eucalyptus toxins ( 2 ). However, koalas
have undergone genetic bottlenecks and
drastic population declines due to hunt-
ing, car accidents, deforestation, climate
change, and diseases such as Chlamydia
and koala retroviruses. These threats have
caused direct mortalities, reduced the
koalas’ reproductive capacity, and limited
population distribution (3–5). A 2018 study
estimated that the koala population might
be as low as 43,000 individuals ( 6 ).
Despite the koala’s historic resilience,
recent Australia wildfires have put them in
grave danger. Since September 2019, nearly
1 billion animals have died in the fires,
including at least 25,000 koalas ( 7 ). In the
New South Wales region alone, 30% of the
koala population has likely been killed ( 8 ).
The koala’s habitat is now even smaller
and more fragmented than before. In the
face of these setbacks, koalas could soon
become functionally extinct ( 9 ).
To help the koala population, the current
IUCN listing of koalas as Vulnerable should
be immediately upgraded to Critically
Endangered. In addition, Australia should
increase forestation in the key habitat areas.
This will not only help the koalas but also
reduce the carbon footprint and climate
change currently threatening so many other
species and the region overall ( 10 ).
Su Shiung Lam^1 , Courtney Waugh^2 , Wanxi Peng^3 ,
Christian Sonne4,3
(^1) Henan Agricultural University at Zhengzhou,
China, and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu at
Terengganu, Malaysia.^2 University of Queensland
at Brisbane, QLD, Australia and Nord University
at Steinkjer, Norway.^3 Forestry College of Henan
Agricultural University at Zhengzhou, China.
(^4) Aarhus University at Roskilde, Denmark.
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
REFERENCES AND NOTES

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2. B. D. Moore, W. J. Foley, Nature 435 , 488 (2005).


3. S. Farzin et al., Ecography 42 , 1587 (2019).


4. V. Gonzalez-Astudillo et al., Sci. Rep. 9 , 17494 (2019).


5. B. S. Law et al., PLOS One 13 , e0205075 (2018).


6. Australian Koala Foundation, “The koala—Endangered
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7. G. Readfearn, “Kangaroo Island bushfires: Grave
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8. E. Newburger, “Australia fires kill half a billion
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   animals-killed-as-crisis-mounts.html.


9. J. Davidson, “‘Functionally extinct’ koalas have now
   lost 80% of habitat following recent fires, experts
   say,” EcoWatch (2019); http://www.ecowatch.com/koalas-
   functionally-extinct-fires-2641450078.html.


10. G. Popkin, Nature 565 , 280 (2019).

10.1126/science.aba8372

NEXTGEN VOICES: SUBMIT NOW

Mentor a job seeker

Add your voice to Science! In this NextGen Voices survey, a reader asks for your

advice. Have you been in this situation or one like it? Do you have any tips that you would

like to share? Become a NextGen Voices peer mentor by contributing your thoughts.

Dear NextGen Voices peer mentors,

I am the first of my family to go to graduate school, and I’m about to defend my Ph.D.

It has been a really tough few years, but now I’ve completed all the requirements in

my program, published two papers, and coauthored several more. I was even given

an “outstanding student” grant to attend a conference this year! Even so, this all feels

quite average for a Ph.D. student, and I feel like I can attribute most of my achieve-

ments to luck. The support of my peers and adviser also helped me a lot. As I apply for

jobs, I can often think of a colleague who seems more qualified for the position than

I am. I fail to meet many of the requirements listed for jobs outside of academia, but

the jobs I do qualify for seem like they’re all for people with less education than I have.

Still, I don’t want to oversell myself in applications or interviews. How can I realistically

assess my own potential and avoid wasting time applying to jobs I could never get?

Sincerely,

Seeking Career Clarity

To submit, go to http://www.sciencemag.org/nextgen-voices

Dea dline for submissions is 28 February. A selection of the best responses will be

published in the 3 April issue of Sci ence. S ubmissions should be 150 words or less.

Anony mous submissions will not be considered.

750 14 FEBRUARY 2020 • VOL 367 ISSUE 6479 sciencemag.org SCIENCE

REFERENCES AND NOTES

1. P. R. Clance, S. A. Imes, Psychother. Theory Res. Pract. 15 ,
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2. D. Dickerson, Nature 574 , 588 (2019).


3. M. Price, Science 4 , 10.1126/science.caredit.a1300188
   (2013).


4. S. Mullangi, R. Jagsi, JAMA 322 , 403 (2019).


5. A. Parkman, J. High. Educ. Theory Pract. 16 , 51 (2016).


6. A. M. Holliday et al., J. Gen. Intern. Med. 10.1007/s11606-
   019-05441-5 (2019).


7. K. Cokley et al., J. Counsel. Psych. 64 , 141 (2017).


8. C. Sonnak, T. Towell, Person. Indiv. Diff. 31 , 863 (2001).


9. D. M. Bravata et al., J. Gen. Intern. Med. 10.1007/s11606-
   019-05364-1 (2019).


10. K. Cokley et al., J. Multicult. Counsel. Dev. 41 , 82 (2013).


11. S.-A. A. Allen-Ramdial, A. G. Campbell, BioScience 64 ,
    612 (2014).


12. M. C. Horner-Devine, T. Gonsalves, C. Margherio, S. J.
    Mizumori, J. W. Yen, Science 362 , 532 (2018).

10.1126/science.aba8039

Wildfire puts koalas at

risk of extinction

In his In Depth News story “Australia’s

vulnerable species hit hard by fires” (20

December, p. 1427), J. Pickrell discusses

the plight of some of the plant and animal

species hit hardest by the wildfires in

Australia. Although perhaps not in as

imminent danger as the species he high-

lights, Australia’s koala population has also

been put in a precarious position by the

fires. As scientists work to assess the dam-

age, they should not overlook the koala.

INSIGHTS | LETTERS

Published by AAAS