Dr. Robert Saper

Dr. Rob Saper, MD, MPH, is the Chair of the Cleveland Clinic Department of Wellness and Preventive Medicine and the holder of the Nancy J. and Michael F. Roizen Chair of Wellness. Dr. Saper graduated from Harvard Medical School, completed family medicine residency and chief residency at University of California San Francisco, and practiced for eight years in the San Francisco Bay Area. He then completed a three-year NIH-funded fellowship in integrative medicine research at Harvard.  

In 2004, Rob joined the faculty of Boston University and founded the Program for Integrative Medicine and Health Disparities, with a mission to make evidence-based integrative medicine available to all. His research focus is the safety, effectiveness, and implementation of integrative practices for common primary care problems, with the goal of reducing health disparities. Randomized controlled trials performed by Rob and colleagues for chronic low-back pain in underserved populations contributed to the evidence base supporting the incorporation of yoga into clinical guidelines for pain management. He has published 80 peer-reviewed papers, authored monographs on dietary supplements and yoga, presented numerous lectures nationally and internationally, mentored countless students, and received funded grant awards from NIH, Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Health Resources and Service Administration, and others. As the chair of Wellness and Preventive Medicine he has made growing wellness equity a core departmental principle and strategy.