Dr. Calabrese is a graduate of the in Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. He performed his internal medicine training at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation followed by fellowship in rheumatic and immunologic disease. He has been on staff in that department at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation since 1980.

Dr Calabrese is a Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University and Vice Chair of the Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases. Dr Calabrese is the director of the RJ Fasenmyer Center for Clinical Immunology at the Cleveland Clinic specializing in diseases of the immune system. Dr. Calabrese holds joint appointments in the Department of Infectious Diseases and the Wellness Institute.

Among his many awards and honors, Dr. Calabrese has received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, the Phillips Medal of Public Service from the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Bruce Hubbard Stewart Award for humanitarianism and Leonard Tow Humanitarianism in Medicine award from the Arnold P Goldman MD Foundation and holds two endowed chairs including the RJ Fasenmyer Chair of Clinical Immunology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the Theodore Classen Chair of Osteopathic Research and Education.

Dr. Calabrese has lectured nationally and internationally on the subjects of clinical immunology, rheumatology and medical humanism and is the author of over 450 published peer reviewed articles, book chapters and reviews.