News
In Memoriam: Dr Herman Verheij
With a very heavy heart we announce the passing of our dear colleague, Herman Verheij. He died last Thursday, January 22, in a car accident. Herman's expertise, warmth, humour, generosity of spirit and joyful presence will be dearly missed by all of us at Lygature. As we try to come to terms with this sudden and devastating loss, our thoughts are foremost with his loved ones.
In January 2010, Herman started as a programme manager in one of our legacy organizations, Top Institute Pharma. With his extensive expertise in screening and computational chemistry, gained across various life science companies, he quickly became a valued member of the TI Pharma team responsible for a portfolio of large, multi-stakeholder research projects in drug discovery and development.
Over the years, Herman grew into his role as a versatile and trusted partnership manager, known for his ability to connect people and perspectives. He played an important role in bringing public and private partners together, both in the Netherlands - through the Life Sciences & Health ‘FES portfolio’ (LSH-FES), and at European level - in projects such as PDE4NPD, focused on novel treatments for neglected parasitic diseases. He was also closely involved in pioneering remote monitoring technology initiatives, including RADAR-CNS, RADAR-AD and Trials@Home.
More recently, Herman led two European projects within the Innovative Health Initiative: IDERHA, centred on integrating health data, and PERSIST-SEQ, focusing on single-cell sequencing. In these projects he brought not only his broad expertise, but also a strong sense of collaboration, always fostering an environment in which partners could work together openly and give their best towards a shared goal.
During the merger between the former ‘top institutes’ that created the Lygature Foundation, Herman played a key role in bringing cultures together by dividing his time between our former offices in Eindhoven and Leiden. Within our organisation, Herman was a generous mentor to other colleagues, readily sharing his knowledge on the ins & outs of running projects co-funded by the European Commission.
His authentic personality left a lasting impression. He was always ready for a joke or a chat, unafraid to voice his opinion, kind at heart and never hesitant to roll up his sleeves. Many will remember his enthusiasm for food, books and science fiction, and his fondness for his late basset hound Fred, who became an unexpected “project mascot” during the Teams-only COVID period of the RADAR-CNS project.
With Herman’s passing, we have lost a dear colleague and a cherished presence within our organisation. The absence of his laughter, his stories, his familiar coffee mugs, not being able to lean on his experience, is all very hard to comprehend. We will miss him dearly.
As Lygature, we would like to extend our deepest sympathy and wish his partner, their daughters and loved ones strength in coping with this profound loss.