Initiative and drive: our management team
Steering Intravacc’s development and growth is a team of experienced industry and scientific experts. They bring initiative, knowledge, and leadership to all aspects of a successful vaccine-focused CDMO enterprise.
Prof. Dr. Virgil Schijns
Chief Scientific Officer
Prof. Dr. Virgil Schijns is the CSO and joined the company in November 2020. He was Chief Technology Officer of Crossbeta Biosciences and prior to that the principal immunologist of Nobilon and Head of Vaccine Technology and Immunology at Intervet-AKZO-NOBEL. In 2002 he was appointed as a Special Professor in Immunology and Virology at North Carolina State University in the USA, as well as Guest Professor at the University of Wageningen, The Netherlands, in 2008, and Strathclyde University in Glasgow, UK, in 2013. He is also the CSO of Epitopoietic Research Corporation, an oncology company in Namur, Belgium.
Daniëlle Lankveld, DVM, PhD
Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Daniëlle Lankveld, DVM has been the COO since 2017. She joined Intravacc in 2013. She started her career as a veterinary anesthetist at the Veterinary School of Utrecht University in The Netherlands. In 2007 she became a researcher at the Dutch National Institute of Public Health. Subsequently, in 2011, she became the Manager of the Animal Research Center (ARC) of the former Netherlands Vaccine Institute. In 2013, when the ARC became part of Intravacc, she was promoted to the position of Chief Development Officer within Intravacc. She holds a degree as Doctor in Veterinary Medicine as well as a PhD from the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Frieda Gerdes, PhD
Vice President of Business Development & Marketing
Frieda Gerdes, PhD, has been Vice President of Business Development & Marketing at Intravacc since 2023. With over 25 years of healthcare industry experience, she earned her PhD in Cell Biology from the University of Kiel, Germany. Her career journey began in 1996 in sales, followed by pivotal roles in marketing and business development at renowned companies like ThermoFisher Scientific, Agendia, GE Healthcare, Epigenomics, and Molecular Health. Frieda also excels in consulting and management, assisting international diagnostic, pharmaceutical, and biotech firms in launching innovative products. Her leadership drives Intravacc's CDMO growth and strategic partnerships.
Dinja Oosterhoff, PhD
Vice President R&D
Dinja Oosterhoff, PhD joined Intravacc in 2013 as Vice President R&D. Following her Master’s degree in Medical Biology at the VU University in Amsterdam, she obtained her PhD in 2005 at the VU University Medical Center, Department of Medical Oncology, on the development of adenovirus-based gene therapy vectors for the treatment of solid tumors. Having worked for several years on immunotherapy and dendritic cell targeted anti-cancer vaccines, she started using her knowledge and experience from the oncology field in the development of vaccines for infectious diseases at Intravacc. She has worked in various roles at the company and has been Vice President R&D since 2022.
Sabien van der Schoot, Pharm D, PhD
Sr. Director Program Management
Sabien van der Schoot, Pharm D, PhD joined Intravacc in 2023 as Sr. Director Program Management. She is an experienced leader in the pharmaceutical industry. A pharmacist by training, she started her career with a PhD in the development and aseptic manufacturing of drug products for first-in-human clinical trials at the Dutch Cancer Institute. After that she held different positions in large pharmaceutical companies such as Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Abbott, and Janssen Vaccines. At these companies she held positions as senior scientist, CMC leader, and project leader, respectively. Prior to joining Intravacc, she was site leader of the Venn Life Sciences (part of hVIVO) consultancy office in Breda, The Netherlands, responsible for the business development strategy and reaching financial targets. Simultaneously she headed the CMC department.
Minke Wessels, LLM
HR Manager
Minke Wessels joined Intravacc in September 2019 as HR Manager. She brought over 15 years of Human Resources experience to Intravacc. After her Master’s degree in International Law at Leiden University, she started out as Team Manager at ING Bank. Five years into the job, she chose a new career path within HR to pursue her interests in individual & group development and change management. Before joining Intravacc, she was senior HR Business Partner at Nationale Nederlanden. Minke is an experienced coach and trainer and has a track record in creating a culture of collaboration and managing change.
Erik Popping, LLM
General Counsel
Erik Popping joined Intravacc in January 2016. He has over 15 years of experience within the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors as a corporate and legal counsel. Before joining Intravacc, he was Corporate and Legal Counsel at the Hal Allergy Group, and, prior to that, for the Netherlands Vaccine Institute, a predecessor of Intravacc. He holds a Master's degree in Law from Radbound University and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from HAN University of Applied Sciences.
