239 Acknowledgements ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There was no easy way here. I knew it when I embarked on this PhD journey and the challenge was one of the reasons that led me to do it. However, I could not foresee all the pitfalls along the way. All the boundaries it made me cross, all the ways it shaped my ways of thinking, all the impact it had on my self-confidence and, eventually, my skills. All the hours and scars left in my eyes and my brain. Still, and when looking back, there was no single moment in which I have regretted this choice, not thought of quitting. And this was, at least partially, because of the support I have received from all of you. To Tom and Carlos, without whom I would literally not have gotten here. To their efforts to support my choices, my learning process and the most difficult moments, despite all the differences between our ways of seeing the (academic) world, interests and ways of being. To their rigour, intellectual ability and technical expertise, which defined my standards of Academic work and research. To Sam and Hester for accepting to jump on the train in the middle of the trip when we could already foresee some issues with the tracks. Hester, for being the female mentor I should have had since the early days, providing coaching and support in navigating MGZ. Sam, for offering an external perspective, speaking the causal-health language, and for the time spent in Canada. To MGZ. To Johan, who introduced me to the world of inequalities research and welcomed me to ErasmusMC and my beloved city of Rotterdam. To the Social Epidemiology group, namely Frank, Marielle, Joost and Lili, which accepted me despite doing quite different research. To Hanna, Eline and Mara, for the lovely time in 23-09 and our small PhD group. To Lex, his open door policy and availability to support in crucial moments. To the Health Economics Group at ESE, including Teresa, Pilar and Hans, for hosting me and accepting my irregular presence in meetings and seminars. To my companions of PhD in economics and now colleagues and friends, Lisa, Joaquim and Vahid. To the health economics community in Portugal, mainly through the Portuguese Association of Health Economics (APES) and the Nova Health Economics and Management group (NHEM). For allowing me to apply and discuss all that I have learnt over the years in the Portuguese context, which is so relevant to me. To APES for giving me the platform to shape (Portuguese) health economics. To my co-authors Pieter Bakx, Joana Pestana and Sara Machado, for allowing me the experience of working outside of my supervisory team. To Joana, for accepting the challenge to delve into the world of mental health research and develop my raw ideas into the only paper about Portugal in my thesis, which we did without any senior co-author. A
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