SOGIE Health Equity Research Collaborative
The mission of the SOGIE Collaborative is to advance health equity for all communities, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.
Michelle Stage, MS
Doctoral Candidate, Behavioral Science, Psychology Department, University of Rhode Island (URI)
Graduate Research Assistant, Emotion, Pain, Interpersonal Communication (EPIC) Lab, URI
Graduate Research Assistant, Minority Stress and Trauma (MST) Lab, URI
Project Researcher, Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals (BHDDH), Rhode Island Block Grant Needs Assessment
Michelle Stage (she/her) is a doctoral candidate in Behavioral Science at the University of Rhode Island, where she focuses on improving healthcare experiences for LGBTQ+ communities, particularly in primary care. Her research centers on how environmental and interpersonal cues in healthcare settings affect patients’ comfort, communication, and willingness to disclose sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) information. Through her work in the Emotion, Pain, and Interpersonal Communication (EPIC) Lab and the Minority Stress and Trauma (MST) Lab, Michelle collaborates on studies examining stigma, trauma, and healthcare inequities faced by LGBTQ+ individuals. Michelle also serves as a researcher for Rhode Island’s Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals (BHDDH), where she supports the state’s mental health and substance use needs assessment with an emphasis on addressing gaps in care for historically underserved populations. Outside of her university roles, she is an active member of the Pride in Aging RI Education Subcommittee, contributing to the development of inclusive training materials for assisted living and nursing home staff to better support older and aging LGBTQ+ adults. In her non-academic time, Michelle enjoys themed movie nights, crafting pop-culture inspired meals, and exploring the vast amount of New England beaches.
Representative Publications
- Stage, M. A.,Creamer, M. M., & Ruben, M. A. (2025). “Having providers who are trained and have empathy is life-saving”: Improving primary care communication through thematic analysis with ChatGPT and human expertise. PEC Innovation, 6, 100371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecinn.2024.100371
- Stage, M. A., Sherman A. L., Stamates, A. L., Ruben, M. A., Ehlke, S. J., & Kelley, M. L. (2025). Impulsivity as a mediator in the relationship between binegativity, childhood physical abuse, and risky behaviors among bisexual women. Journal of Bisexuality. 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2025.2481366
- Ruben, M. A., Stage, M. A., Batchelder, A. W., Gilbert C., Shipherd, J. C., Livingston, N. A., Weaver, A. E., & Berke, D. S. (2025). The surfacing of shame: predicting suicidal ideation from nonverbal expressions of shame in urban and rural LGBTQ adults. PLOS Mental Health. 2(1), e0000129. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000129
- Stage, M. A., & Ruben, M. A. (2025). From cueless to cue-full: Understanding health care cues’ impact on sexual orientation and gender identity disclosure. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 11(1), 42–55. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000442
- Hargons, C. N., Thorpe, S., Malone, N., Wright, C. J., Dogan, J. N., Mizelle, D. L., Stuck, J. L., Sullivan, Q. A., Sanchez, A., Bohmer, C., Stage, M.A., Bruther, K., Vigil, K., Cineas, M. R., & Gilbert, T. Q. (2022). Black people’s constructions of good sex: Describing good sex from the margins. Sexualities, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/13634607221101854