Raj Mitra, M.D.
Raj Mitra, M.D. is a distinguished academic clinician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation, with a focus on pain management. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine. He completed his residency and fellowship training in physical medicine and rehabilitation, and pain management at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Mitra's research interests include the development of new percutaneous pain and spine interventions, exploring alternatives to opioids for pain management, and population-based analysis of disability. He has contributed significantly to policy development addressing the opioid epidemic, serving as an expert consultant to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as a physician advisor to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
He is also the editor-in-chief of Principles of Rehabilitation Medicine, a comprehensive reference textbook published by McGraw Hill. His academic achievements include the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Chair fellowship in 2017, during which he spent four months in India teaching and conducting research on disability incidence to provide cost-effective solutions for the nation’s Ministry of Health.
Dean Mitra has held several prominent academic and clinical positions. Prior to joining Wright State University and Premier Health, he served as a professor of medicine and associate dean of clinical affairs at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, where he also acted as the chief medical officer at UCF Health. His distinguished academic career also includes serving as the Senator Robert J. Dole professor and chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center, where he led clinical, research, and community-based efforts, as well as at Stanford University’s School of Medicine as director of the Interventional Spine Center, chief of the Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and medical director of rehabilitation services.
In March 2025, Dr. Mitra assumed the role of dean of the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine and chief academic officer at Premier Health. Dr. Mitra is committed to setting the academic strategy of the organizations to achieve their shared mission to support the community through excellence in innovative research, exceptional teaching, and world-class patient care. Dr. Mitra aims to enhance the integration of academic and clinical services to address the anticipated physician shortage in southern Ohio and across the nation.