Shaquita Starks

PhD, APRN, FNP-BC , Doctoral (Alumni)

Shaquita Starks, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC graduated from the University of Tennessee, Memphis College of Graduate Health and Sciences Nursing Science PhD Program in May 2016.  Her dissertation study examined the contribution of depression symptoms on the quality of life of African American women who were family caregivers within the context of a relative’s end-stage renal disease.  This study provides the foundation in which Dr. Starks was awarded a one-year MFP post-doctoral fellowship (FY 2016-2017) at the University of Memphis Health Science Center to continue additional training and build her program of research under the mentorship of Professor Mona Wicks, PhD, RN, FAAN.

Dr. Starks, a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 16 years of nursing experience, research study includes participation in a National Institute of Health (NIH) funded trial to determine the effectiveness of INSIGHT, a cognitive behavioral therapy approach designed to reduce depressive and anxiety symptoms and stress in women 18 and older, on a group of African American women caring for patients with ESRD. She was also a community health worker for the Consortium for Health Education, Economic Empowerment and Research (CHEER), a community based participatory health disparities research center funded by the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities (UTHSC, 2014). Her long-term goal is to practice and develop a program of research that will examine the connection between mental health and social determinants of health, and its subsequent consequence on mental and physical health in ethnic minorities.  She is the mother of three children and enjoys volunteering in her community where she provides care to underserved clients in local dialysis centers, hospitals, shelters, and missions.

Dr. Starks is a member of the American Nurses Association, the Tennessee Nurses Association, the Southern Research Society, and Beta Theta-at-Large Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International.