Helga Rippen MD, PhD, PhD, MPH, FACPM

Dr. Helga Rippen was named president and chief executive officer of Health Sciences South Carolina on Thursday (Jan. 29). Health Sciences is the nation’s first statewide health care research collaborative made up of health systems, research universities and medical schools. Rippen is a national expert in health information technology and its ability to revolutionize how patients receive care. In addition to her role at Health Sciences, Rippen joins the faculty of the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health.

She comes to Carolina from Washington, D.C., where she most recently worked as a consultant in health information technology. Rippen has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Florida Atlantic University, a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Duke University, an M.D. from the University of Florida and a master’s of public health in health policy and management from Johns Hopkins University. She completed her residency in preventive medicine at Johns Hopkins as well as fellowships at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Germany and at the University of British Columbia. She is board certified in public health and general preventive medicine and holds a specialty board certification in clinical informatics.