Dannielle Appelhans joined COUR in 2023 as Chief Operating Officer where she oversees research and development, technical development, technical operations, and quality as well as being a significant contributor to corporate strategy and other business operations.
Prior to joining COUR, Dannielle served most recently as the Chief Executive Officer of Rubius Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded and clinical-phase biopharmaceutical company pioneering cellular medicines. She previously served as its Chief Operating Officer, where she oversaw corporate strategy, communications, quality, technical development, and operations. Since 2022, she 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, she 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, Dannielle 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 Engineering in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.