Dr. Robert Saper, MD MPH
Enterprise Chair, Cleveland Clinci Department of Wellness & Preventative Medicine
Dr. Robert Saper is the Enterprise Chair of the Cleveland Clinic Department of Wellness & Preventive Medicine, the holder of the Nancy J. and Michael F. Roizen Chair of Wellness, and Professor of Family Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University. Under Dr. Saper’s leadership, the Department of Wellness and Preventive Medicine is partnering and catalyzing across the entire Cleveland Clinic Enterprise to promote the wellness of patients, caregivers, communities, and the organization. Dr. Saper defines wellness as the active pursuit of optimal physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health. With over 100 providers, researchers, and administrators, in 2025 the Department completed 89,871 patient visits across 19 Ohio sites providing 1:1 and group medical care by physicians, nutritionists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, osteopaths, massage therapists, psychotherapists, yoga instructors, health coaches, and chefs. The team published 23 peer-reviewed papers, received $1.9 million USD in research funding, offered 511 community events, and provided 932 educational encounters with health care professionals and trainees.
Dr. Saper graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1983, completed family medicine residency and chief residency at University of California San Francisco in 1992, and practiced for eight years in the San Francisco Bay Area. He then completed from 2001- 2004 a three-year fellowship in integrative medicine research at Harvard Medical School which was funded by the National Institutes of Health and included earning an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. In 2004 Dr. Saper joined the faculty of Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center. He founded the Program for Integrative Medicine and Health Disparities with a mission to make evidence-based integrative medicine available to all. His career focus is the safety, effectiveness, and implementation of lifestyle changes and nonpharmacologic therapies for the prevention and treatment of common health care conditions. Yoga randomized controlled trials performed by Dr. Saper and colleagues for chronic low back pain contributed to the evidence base supporting incorporation of yoga into clinical guidelines for pain management. Dr. Saper has published over 90 papers in peer-reviewed journals including JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, MMWR, and Academic Medicine. He has presented over 200 lectures nationally and internationally, mentored over 70 trainees, and received 30 funded grant awards. He is also a trained yoga instructor and meditation practitioner for over 40 years.