Dr. Tyrel Starks
Professor in the Department of Psychology &
Director of the Relationship Health Research Team
Professor, Department of Psychology, Hunter College
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Southern Illinois University - Carbondale
M.A., Clinical Psychology, Southern Illinois University - Carbondale
B.S., Psychology, University of South Dakota
Email: [email protected]
CURRENT AREAS OF RESEARCH:
Dr. Starks has a strong investment in research which directly informs clinical practice. He is the Director of the Relationship Health Research Team at PRIDE and a member of the Health Psychology and Clinical Science doctoral program faculty.
His research focuses on substance use and sexual health in sexual minority populations, with a particular emphasis on relationship factors associated with sexual health in gay and bisexual men. A large portion of his work aims specifically to develop interventions which target drug use and HIV-related sexual risk tailored for gay and bisexual men in relationships. The fundamental premise of this work is that enhancing relationship functions between primary partners will lead to improvements in health-related behaviors for the individuals in the relationship.
His portfolio of federally funded research includes the development of interventions delivered to couples and also individually-delivered interventions tailored specifically for gay men in relationships. Interventions tested in his lab utilize a combination of Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and video-based modeling. Separately, he is also interested in how relationship-related expectations shape the behavior of individuals who are single.
CURRENT FEDERAL GRANTS:
Tyrel J. Starks, PI. Couples Motivational Interviewing to reduce drug use and HIV risk in vulnerable male couples Grant #: R01 DA059272. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Project Period: 10/1/2023 – 5/31/2028. Total Budget: $3,451,808.
Amy Conroy, PI; Tyrel Starks, Co-I: Couples-based Motivational Interviewing with technology to reduce alcohol consumption in HIV+ South African couples. Total budget: $214,645 (year 1)
Tyrel J. Starks, PI: Expanding the potential of couples HIV testing: Adjunct modules to reduce drug use among vulnerable male couples. Funded by National Institute of Drug Abuse. Project Period: 07/25/2020 – 05/30/2025. Total Budget: $3,912,425.
- Tyrel J. Starks, PI. Evaluating the efficacy of annual CHTC retesting among male couples at high risk of HIV infection Grant #: R01 DA050508-S1. Project Period: 4/1/2022 – 5/31/2025. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. $1,286,386.
Tyrel J. Starks, PI: Intervention to reduce drug use and HIV incidence among high PrEP priority partnered YMSM. Funded by National Institute of Drug Abuse. Project Period: 7/1/2017 – 5/31/2022. Total Budget: $4,701,017.
PREVIOUS FEDERAL GRANTS:
Tyrel J. Starks & Sarah Feldstein Ewing, Project Co-Leads; Enhancing sexual safety: Couples communication and HIV testing among YMSM. (PI Naar). Funded by the National Institute of Child and Human Development. Project Period: 9/1/2017 – 5/31/2021. Total Budget: $4,120,253.
Tyrel J. Starks, Project Lead. Effectiveness Implementation Research to Enhance HIV-Related Self-Management among Youth. (PI Naar). Funded by the National Institute on Child and Human Development. Project Period 10/01/2016 – 05/31/2021.
Tyrel J. Starks, PI. Examining community-based effectiveness of a substance use and HIV risk reduction intervention for young men of color. Project Period: 06/15/2016 - 04/30/2020. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. $1,197,529.
Tyrel J. Starks, PI: Couples-based intervention to reduce drug use and HIV transmission risk. Funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse. Project Period 4/1/2017 – 2/29/2021. Total Budget: $666,900.
Tyrel J. Starks, PI. Improving HIV and Alcohol-Related Outcomes among HIV+ Persons in Community Settings. Funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Project Period: 6/1/18 – 4/30/20. Total Budget: $3,206,624.
Tyrel J. Starks, PI. Addressing substance use through CVCT. Funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse. Project Period 4/1/2014-3/30/2018. Total Budget: $654,093.
Sylvie Naar, PI; Tyrel J. Starks, Co-I. Comparing the Effectiveness of Two Alcohol+Adherence Interventions for HIV+ Youth. Project Period 09/26/13-8/31/18. Funded by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Total Budget: $3,423,680.
Jeffrey T. Parsons, PI; Tyrel J. Starks, Co-I. Multi-component intervention to reduce sexual risk and substance use. Project Period: 08/01/2012 – 07/31/2017. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Tyrel J. Starks, PI, Jeffrey T. Parsons, Research Mentor. National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program for Clinical Research.
Initial Project Period 7/1/2011-6/30/2013, Initial Budget: $28,647
Renewal Project Period 7/1/2013-6/30/2015, Renewal Budget: $21, 950
Renewal Project Period 7/1/2016-6/30/2017, Renewal Budget: $8,872
Tyrel J. Starks, PI. 2015 Summer Presidential Fund for Faculty Advancement. Project Period 6/1/2015-7/1/2015. Total Budget: $1,800
Jeffrey T. Parsons, PI, Tyrel J. Starks, Co-I/Project Director/Biostatistician. Intervention Targeting Substance Using Older Adults with HIV. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Project Period 7/1/10-6/30/15. Total Budget: $3,073,564.
FOR A LIST OF DR. STARKS'S PUBLICATIONS, CLICK HERE.
TO EXPLORE DR. STARK'S KUDOS RESEARCH SHOWCASE, CLICK HERE.