40 Dr. Maria Venetis

Dr. Maria Venetis (Ph.D., Rutgers, 2010) is an Associate Professor in the Communication Department at the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of interpersonal and health communication, and she examines how individuals talk about health and the outcomes of these conversations. She examines patient-provider interactions and communicative practices within medical visits such as the connection between patient and companion question asking and stating of psychosocial outcomes such as satisfaction and adherence. Other work identifies specific patient disclosure strategies when sharing this medically relevant, non-visible, and potentially stigmatizing information. Dr. Venetis also studies how relational partners manage ongoing communication concerning cancer and other health conditions. Recent research includes communicative behaviors that promote resilience among relational partners and supportive communication during cancer care and during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, some of her recently published research provides strategies for how to share information with friends in ways that will make the person sharing feel more supported – even when what that person is sharing may be something that people are judgmental about.