Petros Levounis M.D., M.A. is professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University where he studied chemistry and biophysics, before receiving his medical education at Stanford University School of Medicine and the Medical College of Pennsylvania. During medical school, he received an MA degree in sociology from Stanford before moving to New York City where he trained in psychiatry at Columbia University. He graduated from Columbia receiving the National Institute of Mental Health Outstanding Resident Award and went on to complete his fellowship in addiction psychiatry at New York University.

He has written numerous articles and monographs; has lectured extensively on addiction topics throughout the United States and abroad; and has been interviewed by all major television networks. Dr. Levounis is a Betty Ford Scholar, a recipient of a U.S. State Department Speaker and Specialist Award, and an honorary member of the World Psychiatric Association.