Mollie A. Ruben, PhD

Research Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Ruben earned her PhD in psychology at Northeastern University where she developed a strong background in doctor-patient communication, measuring and quantifying nonverbal behavior, creating standardized tests to evaluate physicians’ interpersonal skill, and meta-analysis. Dr. Ruben is a certified and reliable Facial Action Coding System (FACS) and Roter Interaction Analysis (RIAS) coder. Dr. Ruben uses these coding systems to examine the impact of providers’ communication style on patient health outcomes, with a particular interest in ameliorating the physical pain experience for patients. Additionally, Dr. Ruben is interested in doctor-patient communication among sexual minorities or LGBT patients.

Publications

  • Published 6/2/2026

    Stosic MD, Weaver AE, Fujiwara K, Vicaria IM, Isaacowitz DM, Ruben MA. A Multimethod Assessment of Spontaneous Behavioral Synchrony in Race- and Age-Concordant Versus Discordant Dyads. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2026 Jun 02; 1461672261449338. PMID: 42231611.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/8/2025

    Ruben MA, Blanch-Hartigan D, Hall JA. What is Artificial Intelligence (AI) "Empathy"? A Study Comparing ChatGPT and Physician Responses on an Online Forum. J Gen Intern Med. 2026 Apr; 41(5):1304-1311. PMID: 41359230.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/1/2025

    Stosic MD, Ruben MA, Weaver AE, Blanch-Hartigan D, Sanders JJ, Schwartz R, Jeong S, Lam RX, Hall JA, Duong F, Meyer EC, Waisel D, Blum RH. What Is Clinical Empathy in Anesthesiology? Perspectives From Practicing Anesthesiologists. A A Pract. 2025 Sep 01; 19(9):e02045. PMID: 40911041.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 8/6/2025

    Ruben MA, Weaver AE, Stein LAR. Modern racism contributes to overall less pain management and a "one size fits all" approach. Health Psychol Rep. 2025; 13(3):226-235. PMID: 40959658.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 7/26/2025

    Murphy NA, Ruben MA, Stosic M, Renier LA, Schlegel K, Hall JA, Mast MS, Marroquín B. How Long? How Many? How Much? Evidence of Convergent Validity Among Thin-Slice Behavioral Coding Metrics. J Nonverbal Behav. 2025 Sep; 49(3):307-323. PMID: 41919091.

    Read at: PubMed

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Websites

Education

  • Northeastern University, PhD
  • Northeastern University, MA
  • Franklin & Marshall College, BA

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