I would further like to thank my second supervisor Prof. Dr. Sebastian Lakner. Throughout my master's thesis, you guided my academic path and encouraged me to apply and start my Ph.D. Without your encouragement, helpfulness, and continued interest in my work, I could have never completed this project. Thank you for always showing me the bright side of the coin. I also thank Prof. Dr. Claudia Neu, my third supervisor. Your feedback from discussing my work during the doctoral seminar and beyond was valuable and contributed to refining my research ideas and papers. In addition, I would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Stefan Schüler for his ideas and feedback on my paper. I also thank Dr. Marius Michels for reviewing and discussing my second paper.Finally, I owe special thanks to Antje Wagener for supporting me in all administration matters, refreshing office chats, and everyday cordialities.Getting this far would have been a lot harder without the collaboration and support from my colleagues in the department, especially those with whom I shared an office or whose office I visited so often. Jost and Johanna, we started as colleagues and ended up being friends. Thank you, Jost, for the inspiring discussions, enriching cooperation, conference trip to Tänikon, and companionship. Thank you, Johanna, for your emotional support, for giving me perspective, and for all the good times during and after office hours. It's been a pleasure and joy to go on this journey with you both.On that note, I am incredibly thankful to Jasper for creating and filling our 'weekend island' with love and laughter. Thank you so much for your patience, support, and the fantastic food that kept me alive and made me smile, especially when things got tough.I thank my flat maids, especially Thorsten, for all the emotional support and friendship along the way.Thank you 'Kleine Stephie' for all the motivational cards and calls from afar.Lastly, I want to thank my parents for not giving up despite the long, exhausting years of illness, giving me hope and strength. "Health is not everything, but without health, everything is nothing."