We know Nano™

Marco Jaspers is Principal Scientist and Senior Project Manager at Ardena. He brings more than 20 years of experience across the life sciences and pharmaceutical industry, specializing in leading complex multidisciplinary projects. Throughout his career, Marco has focused on supporting project teams and clients in delivering successful development outcomes across pharmaceutical programs. He is recognized for his results-driven mindset, pragmatic approach, and empathetic leadership style, supporting collaboration across cross-functional project environments. At Ardena, Marco works closely with project teams to help accelerate development programs and support the successful progression of products toward market readiness.

Moniek van der Eem is Director Analytical Sciences at Ardena. She is an experienced analytical chemist with more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, specializing in CMC development and analytical strategies supporting drug development programs. Throughout her career, Moniek has led analytical and quality strategies across complex pharmaceutical projects, supporting the advancement of development programs from early stages into the clinic. She has extensive experience delivering robust analytical data packages and supporting regulatory readiness across development activities. Moniek is recognized for her expertise in analytical sciences and her focus on supporting efficient and compliant pharmaceutical development programs.

Rob van der Weegen is Principal Scientist and Group Lead at Ardena. He specializes in GMP-compliant process development and scale-up of complex nanoscale therapeutic modalities supporting clinical studies and future commercial manufacturing. Rob joined Ardena in 2018 as a Process Development Scientist in the field of Nanomedicines. Since then, he has focused on supporting process development and manufacturing scale-up activities for advanced therapeutic programs within GMP-regulated environments. Prior to joining Ardena, he completed a two-year postdoctoral position in Paris specializing in polymer and materials sciences. Rob obtained his PhD in Supramolecular Chemistry from Eindhoven University of Technology in 2015.

Silvie Meeuwissen is Director Process R&D and Manufacturing Nanomedicines at Ardena Oss. She specializes in nanomedicine process development and pharmaceutical manufacturing, supporting the development of innovative precision medicine-based therapies. Since joining Ardena in 2013, Silvie has played a key role in the establishment and growth of Ardena’s nanomedicine services. In 2023, she became Director Process R&D and Manufacturing Nanomedicines, leading the department’s efforts in process development and manufacturing activities supporting advanced therapeutic programs. Silvie studied Organic Chemistry and obtained her PhD in Bio-organic Chemistry from Radboud University.

Sjoerd Rijpkema is Senior Scientist and Group Lead at Ardena. He specializes in polymer chemistry and NMR, supporting R&D activities and customer projects within pharmaceutical development programs. Before joining Ardena, Sjoerd worked as a university lecturer, teaching polymer chemistry and NMR. Since joining Ardena, he first worked in laboratory-based roles before progressing into his current position as Group Lead in R&D, where he supports customer projects and team coordination activities. In addition to his work at Ardena, he is a columnist for the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (KNCV) and is involved in the organization committee for the Future Leaders in Chemistry conference. Sjoerd studied Chemistry in Nijmegen, where he completed a Master’s degree in Organic Chemistry and NMR, followed by a PhD in Systems Chemistry.

Mark van Eldijk is Business Unit Director of Nanomedicines at Ardena. He combines scientific expertise in nanomedicine development and nanoparticle technologies with experience in strategic leadership, business development, and pharmaceutical CMC. Mark joined Ardena in 2016 as a Scientist and Project Leader before transitioning into business development and later into his current leadership role. At Ardena, he leads multidisciplinary teams focused on the development and manufacture of innovative nanomedicine products, including lipid-based, polymeric, and metal-based nanoparticles carrying a broad range of therapeutic payloads such as cytotoxics, oligonucleotides, mRNA, peptides, and proteins. His expertise includes nanomedicine development, polymer chemistry, nanoparticle characterization, customer relationship management, and pharmaceutical development strategy. Mark obtained his PhD in Bio-organic Chemistry from Radboud University Nijmegen, where his research focused on the design and preparation of biopolymer-based nanoparticles. He subsequently worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the California Institute of Technology and has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed scientific publications.