Steven Starks, M.D., M.B.A., DFAPA, is a geriatric psychiatrist and clinical assistant professor at the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine. He serves as psychiatry clerkship director and learning community mentor for the Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler Learning Community. His work aims to create a culture where mental health treatment is compassionate, accessible, equitable, and free of barriers. 

His research has examined the cultural and social effects of mental health conditions on patients and families. Starks has a passion for mental health advocacy and serving communities that have been marginalized and made vulnerable by systemic and structural factors. He serves Fertitta Family College of Medicine departments of clinical services and behavioral and social sciences with roles in education, curriculum development and community partnerships.

Starks was a Pozen-Commonwealth Fund in Health Equity Leadership at the Yale School of Management (Class of 2023) and a 2018-2019 Health and Aging Policy Fellow and American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow who served in the Office of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives where he contributed to the design, drafting and roll out of the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act.  

He is an alumnus of the University of Houston and earned his medical degree from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, receiving the Dean’s Award at commencement.  He completed postgraduate psychiatry training at Baylor College of Medicine Affiliated Hospitals Residency Program and a clinical fellowship in geriatric psychiatry at Yale-New Haven Medical Center.  He is a diplomate of the American Board and Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc. with certifications in the specialty of psychiatry and the subspecialty of geriatric psychiatry.  He maintains a commitment to promoting equity through his leadership on the Association of American Medical Colleges/National Medical Association Action Collaborative for Black Men in Medicine, AAMC Student Mental Health Working Group, E4 Center of Excellence in Behavioral Health Disparities in Aging National Advisory Board, Alzheimer's Association Houston & Southeast Texas Chapter Board of Directors, and the American Psychiatric Association Board of Trustees.