313 Acknowledgements ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A heartfelt confession is quite ideal to start this chapter: I had a feeling, I was scared to write this chapter. Considering I have had the privilege of working in teams with amazing people for all the content in this book (and some more outside) and here I only have couple of (maybe ten?) pages, to fill only with words to be able to sufficiently express my gratitude to everyone contributed to my journey. I did know that this chapter would have to be the most difficult one as it is the one I have to write all by myself. What an amazing journey it was, and now I would like to at least attempt to express my gratitude to every colleague, mentor, friend and family of mine. “There and back again…” - J. R. R. Tolkien. I would like to start with my supervision team, who started this journey with me, who taught me and allowed me to see different directions towards which I could grow even more. Having four strong personalities in one room every week Tuesday at 15:00 wasn’t easy at times, but we managed to look past differences and built a strong team spirit, creating a positive and harmonious atmosphere for our collaborative efforts. And ultimately, it was this unique combination of you three and me that delivered our projects as you each showed me something only you can teach. Dear Janette, I am overwhelmingly grateful to have met you and join your team back in 2018. I did not know what I was getting in as just a Master’s student, certainly didn’t have any long term plans to stick around - if only if that man could see now! Every time I knocked your door, every time I heard your voice saying “Come in!”, I felt welcomed, I felt appreciated and I felt respected. I want to thank you for creating and sustaining such a positive environment for my personal and professional development. Since the beginning, you have set an amazing example and a role model for me, both with your words and your actions. I can only hope and trust that I have been able to appreciate all the opportunities you provided by having stepped up to the challenges and shown you that I could handle it. Maybe I couldn’t then but I now can, thanks to you. Dear Irene, I still vividly remember the day I met you in my first EXPIRE group meeting. It was my first time joining that meeting, and I did not know you beforehand. I remember feeling impressed in that first time, and I have developed a great deal of respect during all of our interactions over the years. You set a great example of how a professor can be dedicated to their work but also still stayed connected to the team. Your strong approach for how a scientific project needs to be organized from the initiation to the execution taught me I should place my milestones and
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