Broadly, Dr. Stevens-Watkins' research focuses on health disparities and barriers to service utilization among African American populations. She has current projects focused on breastfeeding and maternal morbidity among African American women. In addition, she has over a decade of consecutive funding from NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) as PI or Co-I. Her projects have focused on criminality, drug use, and HIV risk among African American women. She completed an NIH (K08) Mentored Career Development Award with a research emphasis on the dynamic interaction between anxiety, depression, drug abuse, and HIV risk behaviors among African American male prisoners. She currently has an NIH R01 from NIDA titled: Research Examining Factors Associated with the Opioid Crisis among Under-served African Americans (REFOCUS).

Dr. Stevens-Watkins teaches Practicum, Counseling Techniques, Multicultural Psychology, Psychopathology, and Substance Abuse Counseling.