About Cheryl

On April 26, 2020, Dr. Cheryl Blanchard was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Anika Therapeutics, Inc., a biomedical joint preservation company, after serving as interim Chief Executive Officer since February 2020. Dr. Blanchard joined the Board of Directors of Anika Therapeutics in August 2018. Prior to her work at Anika, she served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Microchips Biotech, Inc., a venture-backed biotechnology company developing regenerative medicine and drug delivery products, from 2014 until its sale to Daré Bioscience, Inc. in November 2019. Previously she served as Sr VP, Chief Scientific Officer of Zimmer and GM of Zimmer Biologics. During her 12 years with Zimmer, she had global leadership of R and D, advanced technologies, clinical, quality, medical and regulatory affairs, medical education, health economics, reimbursement, and general management. She created and led the biologics business at Zimmer through R&D, partnering and business development. Prior to Zimmer, Dr. Blanchard built and led the medical device practice at Southwest Research Institute and was an adjunct professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center, in San Antonio, TX.  She holds a BS in Ceramic Engineering from Alfred University, and an MS and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.