Ran Balicer

Also known as רן בליצר, Ran D. Balicer

Ran Balicer is a public health physician who directs innovation at Clalit Health Services, Israel's largest health care organization, where AI tools reach its doctors. A graduate of Tel Aviv University's medical school, he earned a master's in public health and a PhD at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where he has been on the faculty since 2004. He founded the Clalit Research Institute in 2010, and in 2020 Clalit adapted a flu algorithm to warn members at high risk from Covid-19. In 2023 he was named to the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Advisory Body on AI, and in 2025 Charité in Berlin made him an honorary professor. He is Chief Innovation Officer of Clalit and a full professor at Ben-Gurion University.

Now at: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel's National Expert Advisory Team, Clalit Health Services and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Born: 1976
Works: 386
Citations: 17,589
h-index: 57
Badges: Rising
Founder
Wayfarer
Loyal
Links: Website and LinkedIn

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

Since 2004

Professor at Ben-Gurion University

He earns a medical degree at Tel Aviv University, then a master's in public health and a PhD in health care management at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He has been on the Ben-Gurion faculty since 2004, teaching in its School of Public Health, and is now a full professor and track director of its MPH program.
2010

Founding the Clalit Research Institute

He establishes the Clalit Research Institute in 2010 as a base for real-world evidence research on Clalit's electronic health records. The institute now serves as the WHO Collaborating Centre on Non-Communicable Diseases Research, Prevention and Control.
2020

A flu algorithm for Covid-19

In 2020, Clalit modifies an AI algorithm already used for seasonal influenza to identify members at high risk from Covid-19, and hundreds of thousands of them receive a text alert advising social distancing. He says the tool let Clalit tell high-risk groups to stay home early. Since 2020 he also chairs Israel's National Expert Advisory Team to the government on Covid-19 response.
2023

Nightly AI alerts for physicians

In a 2023 essay, he reports that an AI system at Clalit scans all medical records every night and alerts physicians to gaps, such as a diabetic patient with new kidney failure who is not on the appropriate medication. The system, the result of three years of in-house development, runs among more than 1,000 Clalit general physicians.
October 2023

UN Advisory Body on AI

In October 2023, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announces a new AI Advisory Body to support the international community's efforts to govern artificial intelligence. Balicer is among its members, listed as Chief Innovation Officer and Deputy Director General at Clalit Health Services.
2025

Honorary professor at Charité

In 2025, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin makes him an honorary professor in recognition of his scientific achievements and contributions to global public health. Speakers at the ceremony cite his role in advising the German government on its digital health strategy.
2026

The OPTICA checklist for AI

In May 2026, he tells the Mind the Tech New York conference that general practitioners adopt 200,000 AI-based recommendations every month. By August 2026, a WHO report on AI in European health systems presents Clalit's OPTICA, a process in which every AI product intended for use goes through a checklist of up to 77 items, as one of four approaches to safe deployment.
As of October 2026

Chief Innovation Officer at Clalit

As of October 2026, he is Chief Innovation Officer and Head of the Innovation Division at Clalit Health Services, where he oversees the development and implementation of AI and data-driven solutions. He is also a full professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Community Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University.