Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements
As tradition commands, this is the space to acknowledge all the ones that were
involved, either at a professional or personal level, in my PhD student times. This is
of great responsibility because it is one of the parts (if not the part!) of the doctoral
thesis that is read by most.
First of all I would like to express my appreciation to the several supervisors that
were always there for me, in the good and not so good times. Dr. Bart van Vlijmen,
beste Bart, thank you for the scientific education that you gave me in the beginnings
of my career. Those teachings made me aware of the carefulness and awareness level
that we need to put in to a scientific experiment in order to obtain a trustful outcome. Professor dr. Wouter Jukema, beste Wouter, thank you for believing in me
and in my capabilities. It was a privilege to work with you! Professor dr. Paul Quax,
beste Paul, thank you for receiving me in your group and for always trying to make
me feel welcome within it.
To the group of Professor Havekes, himself, post-docs, PhD students, students, and
technicians, I would like to say THANKS! Thank you for receiving me during my
ERASMUS trainingship and in the early times of my PhD. Likewise, I would like to
acknowledge all TNO employees for the support. Namely I need to thank particularly to Erik Offerman. Beste Erik, many thanks for all the patience and the teachings.
Your lab was always my favorite!
To the BEST TNO room of all, room 21.22, I think I do not have enough words to
express my feelings...Abbey, Danïel, Leonard, Margreet and Vincent, thank you for
showing me that it is possible to work hard and still have fun! You guys made my
PhD time meaningful. Jos, Kees, Ronald and Simone, you were always there for me
as well, thank you! All Professor Quax group: work discussions, lab work, taart or
chocolate: You are the best!
To my student Jasper I need to thank for the courage of having me as a stage supervisor…due to the language barrier, to the project and, above all, me…I really appreciated all the nice work we did together and I hope you learned and enjoyed the time
you spent at TNO. Bedankt! I wish you a lot of luck in your future.
To the colleagues with whom I had the pleasure to have work collaborations,
Pascalle, Bas, Douwe, Thijs, Carlie, Yvonne and Ko. Thank you for trusting me and
for giving me the opportunity to expand my knowledge by learning from you. Hope
you feel the same way and look forward to the next joint scientific adventure!
To my paranimfen, Sonia and Marit, I would like to say a few words as well. Sonia,
obrigado por tudo! You were always there for me; at work or in the English pub!
Thank you for caring...All the best is what you deserve and what I wish for you.
Obrigado pelos rojões que me faziam matar as saudades de casa. Marit, my good
friend, thank you for introducing me to the Dutch customs, culture and cuisine (e.g.
bitterballen at van der Werff). I wish you all the luck in your scientific career. Good
luck in New York and count on me for a visit!
During the past almost five years I had the opportunity to make some Dutch
acquaintances: Daniel, Winfried, Rutger, Rogier and Mass. Thank you for the nice
times where your company (and beers!) made me run away from the stress of the
PhD life!
Portuguese are known to be travelers. According to the saying, we can find a
Portuguese everywhere in the world…In my case it was not different! Ana, obrigado
pela amizade e pelos fantasticos cozinhados! Nuno, boa sorte para o Post-doc em
Paris. Cristiana, Hugo André, Hugo e Joana…todos do mesmo curso e todos na
Holanda! Hope the ending of the PhD will go smoothly to all of you. And I am sure
that we will meet again, for work or pleasure, in a very near future…By having all the
same background and by the fact that all of us were in Holland, although scattered
throughout the country, I had the impression that I could always count on you
guys….just a phone call (…no agendas needed….) for whatever and wherever you
were there. Obrigado!
To all my friends back in Portugal that continuously gave me strength and love by
all the possible ways. Obrigado a todos. É bom saber que o coração sente apesar da
distância...
My family, specially my parents, always supported me despite the distance. Papá e
Mamã, muito obrigado pelo carinho e pela confiança que depositaram em mim.
Família Beirão, muito obrigado por sempre me fazerem sentir em casa…Durante
todos estes anos vocês foram incansáveis e sempre fizeram tudo e de tudo para
encurtar distâncias e me fazer sentir bem…Obrigado.
Last, but not least, I want to thank one of the persons from whom it was harder for
me to be apart, Tai. Thanks for the unconditional support. Thank you for waiting.
Sorry for the tears...Those times are gone. Adoro-te.