196 Chapter 11 “Thank you God, for always leading me in your triumph in Christ and for manifesting through me a sweet aroma of your knowledge in every place.“ This statement is on the first page of every notebook I used during this PhD project. Indeed, it feels like a tremendous triumph, now that I finally get to write the acknowledgement section. I’m grateful to God and all the wonderful people he blessed me with to make this PhD project happen. First of all, I would like to acknowledge my supervisors prof. dr. Harrie Lafeber and prof. dr. Mirjam van Weissenbruch. On the day I startedmy PhDproject, Harrie askedmewhether I was sure I would finish theproject. Honestly, I was abit startled, thinking “have youever seenmequit anything before…”. In retrospect however, Harrie had a foresight of the rocky road ahead. We went from a fire delaying the production of study formula, to a complete change of the study designandextendingmy research timewith teaching&psychiatry. Painfully, we also had to say our last goodbye to Harrie. How I would have loved to see Harrie’s face on the day of my defense… I’m sure he would have been so proud. Harrie was one of the most passionate and encouraging professors I’ve ever met. I’mmore than grateful that I had the privilege of working with him and learning from him. Lieve Mirjam, dankjewel. Een van mijn huisgenootjes noemde je mijn “work mom” en dat is misschien wel de beste beschrijving van onze relatie. Ik heb ontzettend veel van je geleerd als onderzoeker, maar ook persoonlijk. Ik heb eindeloos veel uren op je kamer mogen zitten. We hebben ontzettend veel gelachen, en af en toe een traan moeten wegpinken. Dankjewel voor je geduld en steun door alle ups & downs. I would like to express my gratitude to the doctorate committee: prof. dr. J.B. van Goudoever, prof. dr. R.M. van Elburg, prof. dr. A.C. Heijboer, prof dr. A.C.S. HokkenKoelega, dr. W. Onland and dr. J. Rotteveel, I am honored and grateful to have you all on the committee. This project could not have succeededwithout the study participants of theNUTRIE study and their parents. While their babies were still small and vulnerable, they were willing to contribute to this work. Thank you so much for your willingness to participate. I am truly grateful. My appreciation goes to Nutricia Research and the Nutrisociety for facilitating this research and giving me a platform to grow as a researcher. A big thank you also goes out to the Amsterdam UMC neonatal intensive care unit, location VUmc: all the doctors, nurses and supporting staff thank you for contributing to the NUTRIE study and making me part of the team. Joyce, Shirley, Meredith, Jacob, Kofi en Samson, het is altijd lachen met jullie, bedankt!
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