Ron Gimbel leads Clemson’s statewide rural health initiative, which operates brick-and-mortar rural clinics, a fleet of mobile health units, telehealth services, remote patient monitoring and technology-driven programs that expand access to care. His team focuses on reducing premature death, preventing avoidable hospital stays and improving overall wellness in underserved regions. Clemson Rural Health is also developing South Carolina’s Rural Primary Care Research Network, an emerging hub for clinical, translational and population health research, embedded directly within South Carolina’s rural communities.

A researcher at the intersection of health services, Gimbel studies how technology can better connect patients to care, support clinical decision-making and improve health outcomes statewide.

Gimbel joined Clemson University in July 2014 as chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences. In July 2021, he transitioned to his current role as director of Clemson Rural Health. Under his leadership, Clemson Rural Health has expanded its focus and services. Additionally, he is an affiliated faculty member of the Center for Public Health Modeling and Response team. Before Clemson, he served as a former administrator and faculty member at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and as a senior health analyst at the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine & Surgery. He has published numerous scholarly articles and also had a publication recognized with the distinguished title of Editor’s Choice by the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA).