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Appendix
Acknowledgements
There is a famous African proverb that says “It takes a whole village to raise a child”, meaning that the collaboration between several people is necessary to help a child to grow healthy and safe. I must say that one also needs the support of a whole village to finish a PhD trajectory and become a researcher. In my case, the village is composed of a particular combination of different nationalities, backgrounds and expertise. In the following paragraphs I want to thank all these amazing people who helped and encouraged me to achieve my dream.
First of all, I want to thank the patients who participated in the studies. Most of them were not only engaged with the studies but also truly interested in this Brazilian-Japanese doctor who liked to drink coffee and listen to their stories during the appointments. Hartelijk bedankt voor jullie medewerking en gezelligheid.
I have been extremely lucky to have by my side two supervisors who cared so much about my work and me, Prof. Elisabeth Bel and Prof. Peter Sterk.
Dear Liesbeth, a couple of years ago I was standing in this small outpatient clinic room at LUMC for the first time and got a friendly question “What can do I do for you? How can I help you?”. Little did I know about the unique opportunity I would get. It was an honor to be guided by you during this overwhelming journey into the research world. In these years we had almost weekly hardworking meetings focused on research, uncountable manuscript versions (saved in the old Cruiser), tears and joy. We also had great discussions about professional development and personal life while listening to Maria Bethania songs. Thank you for providing me the tools to move forward in my journey.
Peter, your unique way of talking about science spreads the excitement to all of us. It was impossible not to be contaminated by your shining eyes and inspiring words. The natural consequence was to love science and to wish to follow your footsteps. Thank you for being you!
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