Dannielle Appelhans is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COUR, bringing extensive operational and leadership experience in the biotechnology industry and a dedication to providing innovative therapies to patients.
Dannielle joined COUR in 2023 as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and became CEO in 2024. Since joining, she has focused on building the distinguished employee base, maturing the company to take on late-stage drug development and innovating to enable treatments to enter the clinic and reach patients.
Prior to joining COUR, Dannielle served as the CEO of Rubius Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded and clinical-phase biopharmaceutical company that pioneers cellular medicines. She previously served as its COO, where she oversaw corporate strategy, communications, quality, technical development, and operations. Since 2022, Dannielle has served on the Board of Directors and as a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee for Generation Bio Co.
Prior to joining Rubius, Dannielle worked at Novartis and held roles of increasing responsibility in operations and strategy, culminating in her serving as Senior Vice President, Head of Global Supply Chain, across all divisions and finally as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations and Chief Technical Officer at Novartis Gene Therapies, where she oversaw late-stage development, clinical and commercial manufacturing, supply chain, and all supporting operational functions for the gene therapy unit. Before joining Novartis, she was a Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, working in the pharmaceutical operations practice. Earlier in her career, she held roles of increasing responsibility at Eli Lilly and Company.
Dannielle earned a master of science in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s School of Engineering, an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, and a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.