Mark Sylvester, MD, ABAM, was born and raised in Sarasota, Florida. He received his medical education at the University of Miami and training at the University of Florida College of Medicine. Dr. Sylvester received graduate education in Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychobiology. He is board certified in Psychiatry & Neurology as well as Addiction Medicine. In addition to caring for his patients with Alternative Psychiatry, where he practices Functional Psychiatry and Integrative Health, he also currently serves as medical director of Centerpointe Counseling and Recovery, Sarasota Addiction Specialists, and the Suncoast Harm Reduction Project aimed at reducing opioid related overdose deaths. Dr. Sylvester is an adjunct faculty member at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) where he lectures and clinically trains medical students. He is active in research and is published in the Journal of Biomechanics, Journal of Global Drug Policy, and American Journal of Psychiatry, on topics related to biomechanics, obesity/food addiction, professionalism, addiction in clinical practice, and psychiatric symptoms in end-of-life care.