About the author 279 A ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tobias Boy Polak was born on December 30th, 1993 in Dordrecht. In 2011, he completed his gymnasium education with honors at the Lorentz-Casimir Lyceum in Eindhoven.The following year, he started his study in Econometrics and Operations Research at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He briefly studied Latin and Greek concurrently at Leiden University, but decided to concentrate on econometrics. He pursued a minor in Applied Statistics, Mathematics, and Informatics in the Social Sciences at the University of Aix-en-Provence. Graduating with honors, Tobias earned his Master’s degree in Econometrics and Management Science, focusing on Business Analytics and Quantitative Marketing. His master’s thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr. Dimitris Rizopoulos and Dr. Joost van Rosmalen at the Department of Biostatistics at Erasmus Medical Center, and Prof. Dr. Dennis Fok and Prof. Dr. Richard Paap at the Econometric Institute at Erasmus University Rotterdam. During his studies, Tobias maintained a NOC*NSF Topsport status as a member of the Dutch Youth Bridge Team, winning eight gold medals at Dutch Championships and two silver medals at the World Championships. After concluding his studies and bridge career Tobias started working at myTomorrows, a company specializing in expanded access services. In 2019, he assumed dual roles, serving as both the Director of Real-World Data at myTomorrows and as an external PhD candidate for one day per week. As part of his PhD trajectory, he was invited to attend New York University Grossman School of Medicine as a Visiting Scholar to the Compassionate Use and Preapproval Access (CUPA) working group at the Division of Medical Ethics with Dr. Art Caplan, Dr. Alison-Bateman House, and Dr. Hayley Belli, in 2022. Tobias is a member of CUPA’s working group on Ethics & Real-World Evidence. He obtained funding for his research through a HealthHolland Public-Private Partnership Grant and a Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Grant to support his Visiting Scholarship in New York City. Tobias lives in Rotterdam with his first husband. During his leisure time, he enjoys engaging in various sports, attending classical music concerts and theatrical performances. As a hobbyist, he participates in a musical theatre group and a classical choir.
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