Ran Balicer (Hebrew: רן בליצר; born in Israel) is an Israeli physician, epidemiologist, and public health expert known for his contributions to digital health, health policy, and healthcare innovation. He serves as the Chief Innovation Officer and Deputy Director General at

Clalit Health Services Clalit, (, General Health Services; previously – , General Sick Fund), is the largest of Israel's four state-mandated health service organizations, charged with administering health care services and funding for its members. (All Israeli citize ...

and is the founding director of the Clalit Research Institute. He also chairs the Israeli Medical Association's Society for Quality in Healthcare. Balicer has served as a senior advisor to national and international health agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO), and was a key figure in Israel's COVID-19 response.

Professional career

Balicer's career has focused on

health system A health system, health care system or healthcare system is an organization of people, institutions, and resources that delivers health care services to meet the health needs of target populations. There is a wide variety of health systems aroun ...

s management, and public health. He serves as chief innovation officer at Clalit Health Services and the founding director of Clalit Research Institute. Balicer has served as chair of the Israel Medical Association Society for Quality in Healthcare and on the national Epidemic Management Team. He advises on chronic disease prevention and control at the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

. Balicer is known for his contributions to digital healthcare and health systems management. During the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic, he served as head of the National Expert Advisory Team, advising the Israeli government on pandemic response strategies, and participated in every Ministerial Cabinet on this topic until the end of the pandemic.

Global impact

Balicer has advised President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

's Government of France on leveraging AI for Humanity. Additionally, Balicer supported

Karl Lauterbach Karl Wilhelm Lauterbach (; born 21 February 1963) is a German scientist, physician, and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as Federal Minister of Health from 2021 to 2025. He is professor of health economics ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

's minister of health, in formulating healthcare reforms during Lauterbach’s visit to Israel. In September 2023, Balicer joined the United Nations Secretary-General's AI Advisory Board, a select team tasked with developing the UN's policy framework on

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

. He plays a significant role in drafting the organization's AI policy documents.

Recognition

Balicer was named as one of the

TheMarker ''TheMarker'' () is a Hebrew-language daily business newspaper published by the Haaretz Group in Israel. ''TheMarker'' was founded in 1999 by journalist and entrepreneur Guy Rolnik along with Haaretz Group and U.S.-based investors. Five years ...

's "40 Promising Young People" in 2010 and "100 Most Influential People in Israel" in 2017. He was also selected as one of Globes's "40 Leading Young Managers" in 2012 and "100 People of the Year" in 2021. He was designated chair of the

WHO Collaborating Centre World Health Organization collaborating centres are institutions that work with the World Health Organization (WHO) in disciplines such as occupational health, food safety, and communicable disease prevention. There are over 700 such centres across ...

on Noncommunicable Diseases Research, Prevention and Control in 2014 and honorary professor by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in 2025. Balicer has authored over 250 scientific publications in leading international journals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balicer, Ran Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Israeli epidemiologists