Sodium channel dysfunction in inherited and acquired cardiac diseases Casini, S.

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1 UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Sodium channel dysfunction in inherited and acquired cardiac diseases Casini, S. Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Casini, S. (2008). Sodium channel dysfunction in inherited and acquired cardiac diseases Masso delle Fate Edizioni General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam ( Download date: 22 Jan 2017

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4 Dankwoord Many years ago, I arrived in Amsterdam from Florence with the idea to spend a year doing science in another country. I would have never imagined to start a PhD, but things went obviously in a different way. Therefore, I would like to start this dankwoord page by thanking Prof. Dr. Arthur Wilde and Dr. Marieke Veldkamp, together with Prof. Dr. Elisabetta Cerbai and Prof. Dr. Alessadro Mugelli, for the arrangement of my first year in Holland. Then, I would like to thank Dr. Hanno Tan who gave me the chance to start my PhD, therefore allowing me to continue my adventure in Amsterdam. Dear Hanno and Marieke, and of course, dear Prof. Dr. Jacques de Bakker, respectively my co-promotores and promoter, thanks for your support, for teaching and guiding me during these five years of my PhD. I am very grateful to Prof. Dr. Elisabetta Cerbai, Prof. Dr. N.J. Leschot, Prof. Dr. J.H. Ravesloot and Dr. J.P.P. Smits for having accepted to read and judge my work and for participating in the thesis committee. During the time spent at the Experimental Cardiology Group, I have learned a lot, both from the human and scientific point of view, therefore vanuit mijn hart, bedankt to all the group. And of course, I also would like to thank the Physiology Department and the Anatomy & Embryology Department, in other words, a great thanks to the new Heart Failure Research Center, for the help I have received during these years. The data presented in this thesis have been mostly produced with the use of the patch-clamp technique, which I have learned from several persons Arie, Marcel, Marieke, Jeroen, Geza, and Antoni: thanks for all the patience you had in teaching me patch-clamping. A special mention for Arie, sharing with me the patch-clamp room all these years was not always easy, but you survived, congratulations! Thanks to Berend for the HEK cells culture and to Charly for making the failing rabbits and taking care of them. Carol Ann, thanks not 189

5 only for the immunohistochemistry assays, but also for your company in Denver. Dear Carel, Wim, Martin and Andrè thanks for the technical support in assembling and disassembling my set up so many times (the wooden platform you built for me was really very nice!!!!). Dear Marijke, thanks for your help with the Dutch bureaucracy, and for driving me around all the Christmas markets of the Netherlands. Dear Connie, I would like to thank you not only for your scientific support, but especially for our precious friendship. I will never forget my first months in Amsterdam, and the way you could survive to my Christmas lunch was impressive. Mio, Max, Brendon and Kalliopi, my foreign colleagues, thanks for the fun we had together. Through each of you I was able to know different countries, different ways of thinking, and habits, in fact an extensive trip around Europe. Hester and Tamara, I will never forget our three crazy days in NY! Angela, with who I shared the room for almost all the EWGCE meetings, thanks for being always so full of life. I would like to thank Jan Ruijter for helping me with the statistics, and my last room-mates Willem and Thomas, for sharing with me the study-room and all the stress of writing a thesis. A special thank to Jan, Ton and Cees. Thanks for the wonderful time that I had with you guys, I will never forget all our scientific/philosophical discussions, and how you tough me to drink beer! A thank to my paranimfen Paola e Irene. Paola, il tuo arrivo all AMC è stato un soffio di inaspettata allegria che mi ha sempre aiutato in tutti questi anni, per certi aspetti, non sempre facili. La nostra piccola Italietta ricostruita in pranzi alla mensa, pause caffè e scambio dei vari Chi, Novelle Duemila, Gente mi ha sempre divertito ed incoraggiato. Irene, che dire??? Ho perso il conto delle nostre cene con relative specialità calabresi e toscane come merce di scambio. La tua esperienza decennale in Olanda, mi è stata utile in mille situazioni, per capire un popolo così lontano e diverso da noi. 190

6 Lara, siamo arrivate insieme nel 2002, solo che tu venivi da 5 anni di Germania, e sei stata la prima a farmi capire che volente o nolente la mia vita era cambiata. Il tuo modo di affrontare il mondo così diverso dal mio allora, mi ha sempre affascinato; sicuramente mi hai insegnato molto, di questo te ne sarò sempre grata. Marcello, Anne e Antonio, ormai tutti tornati nel Bel Paese, compresa l olandesina Anne. Le nostre uscite, feste e scorribande notturne sono uno dei ricordi più belli del mio primo anno ad Amsterdam, senza dubbio uno degli anni più felici della mia vita fino ad ora. Carissime Anna Maria, Federica ed Olivia (ragazze, in ordine alfabetico!!), le vostre telefonate per raccontarmi avventure, aneddoti, amori e tragedie varie, mi hanno sempre fatto sentire a casa pur essendo a chilometri di distanza; siete riuscite a farmi ridere anche quando proprio non pensavo fosse possibile. E poi come non citare le ormai mitiche feste di Natale a casa di Annamaria M., con tanto di scambi di regalini e la mitica sangria! Anna grazie. Caro Giuseppe, siamo riusciti a mantenere viva la nostra amicizia, anche quando vivevi in Canada, a dispetto del fuso orario...e dei costi della bolletta telefonica. Non sai quante volte ho preso in considerazione la tua idea di aprire un bar su qualche spiaggia caraibica e fare un falò delle nostre pubblicazioni, in alternativa a questa vita. E poi un grazie alle mie amiche signesi Francesca, Sandra e Michela, che hanno semplicemente fatto in modo che io, da Signa, non me ne fossi mai andata. Thanks to my neighbour and friend Arnoud. Dear Arnoud our Kopjes Koffie and dinners together were always a source of pure fun! Un grazie a tutti gli Italiansonline ed Italians per tutti gli eventi mangerecci o meno organizzati in quel di Amsterdam, alla Prof.ssa Elisabetta Cerbai e al Prof. Alessandro Mugelli per aver reso possibile il mio rientro in Italia, ed ai miei nuovi colleghi Laura, Francesca, Martina, Silvia e Raffaele, grazie ragazzi per la meravigliosa accoglienza. 191

7 Finally, I would like to thank my acquired Dutch family, Jaap, Zwaantje, Meino and Marjolein, thanks for all the support and love I received from each of you. I have really enjoyed all the birthdays, anniversaries and Sinterklaas we spent together. E poi un grazie ai miei genitori ed ai miei fratelli, per avermi aiutato, ascoltato ed incoraggiato durante tutti questi anni trascorsi così lontano, eppure sempre presenti in ogni scelta importante della mia vita. Dear Alex, simply this thesis would not have existed without you. Your love, support and advices in these five years spent together helped me during the dark moments of my PhD. I am glad you gave me the strength to pass through all the difficulties. For that, I will be always grateful. 192