Stephen Strakowski, M.D.

Stephen M. Strakowski, M.D., is the associate vice president for regional mental health and a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Dell Medical School. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a BSE in 1984 and Alpha Omega Alpha from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine with an M.D. in 1988. He completed his residency training at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School in 1992. He then moved to the University of Cincinnati, where he served for 24 years before accepting his current position in 2016.

As the associate vice president for regional mental health, Strakowski is leading a $300 million redesign of the Austin State Hospital. He is working closely with legislators, public and community stakeholders and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to help redesign the care delivery model for the local state hospital and its service area of approximately 55 counties.

In his first role at Dell Med, Strakowski served as inaugural chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, leading the development of improved mental health care delivery and research to improve access and quality of treatment for people living with mental illness in the region. He continues to guide the development of a neuroscience institute and expand imaging research at The University of Texas at Austin.

In his faculty role in the department, Strakowski continues to perform research. He co-directs the Center for Youth Mental Health, dedicated to improving care and care access to young people needing mental health support. He continues to use neuroimaging to understand the brain processes that underlie bipolar disorder^1,2 as well as the potential causes underlying race and ethnicity bias in psychiatric diagnosis^3,4 Strakowski also continues to maintain a clinical practice at UT Health Austin. He is consistently recognized by Best Doctors, Castle Connolly and U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s top psychiatrists.