Professor Andersen is a clinical psychologist who studies biobehavioral aspects of cancer.  Following an internship at UCLA where she began research in cancer, she began her career in 1980 in the Department of Psychology, University of Iowa. There she studied psychological and sexual aspects of gynecologic cancer and received the Burlington Northern Award for excellence in Teaching (1985) and the Research Scholar Award (1988).  She came to Ohio State University (OSU) Department of Psychology in 1989, with a joint appointment in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and was promoted to Professor in 1991.  

Dr. Andersen conducts interdisciplinary, biobehavioral research, studying patients with breast cancer (regional, recurrence), chronic lymphocytic leukemia and advanced non-small cell lung cancers.  Her passion is developing and testing psychological interventions to reduce stress and depressive symptoms and psychological and disease related morbidities to improve patients’ quality of life, health and cancer survival.  The efficacious biobehavioral intervention has been broadly disseminated to oncology mental health providers who have successfully implemented to patients diverse in age, sex, race/ethnicity, and type of cancer diagnosed.  Her current work is focused on stress, depression, and inflammation/immune aspects of lung cancer and testing biobehavioral/cognitive behavioral interventions to treat patients having symptoms of major depressive disorder and/or generalized anxiety disorder.

Professor Andersen is active in teaching and service to the profession. She was instrumental in establishing the health psychology/behavioral medicine track within the Clinical area and for the for the Cancer Population Sciences Program in the Comprehensive Cancer Center was first Director of the Behavioral Measurement Shared Resource.   She has taught psychometrics, research design, practicum, and behavioral medicine graduate courses. She mentors undergraduates, pre and postdoctoral trainees, and junior physician-scientists. Dr. Andersen has received numerous awards at Ohio State (Distinguished University Scholar, 2000; Distinguished Lecturer, 2003; Distinguished Professor of Psychology, 2017) and OSU’s highest faculty award, University Distinguished Professor (2018). Awards from national organizations include the Award for Outstanding Contributions in Health Psychology [American Psychological Association (APA), 2003], Peter Minton Hero of Hope Research Champion Medal of Honor (American Cancer Society-Ohio Division, 2004), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS Fellow, 2005), Distinguished Senior Investigator (Society of Behavioral Medicine, Cancer SIG, 2015), and Outstanding Training and Education Award (American Psychosocial Oncology Society, 2018).  She is presently (2021-2022) President of the Society for Health Psychology, Division 38, of the APA.

Awards, Honors and Recognition

2024: Fred Brown Research Award, Department of Psychology, Ohio State University
2023: Distinguished Scientist Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine
2023: Arthur M. Sutherland Award for Lifetime Achievement, International Psycho-Oncology Society
2022: Leadership in Science Advocacy Award, American Psychological Association and Advocacy Office
2018: Outstanding Education and Training Award, American Psychosocial Oncology Society
2018: Outstanding Training Program in Behavioral Medicine (OSU Health Program in Clinical Psychology), Society of Behavioral Medicine
2017: Distinguished Professor of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences
2016: Participant, VP Biden’s Moonshot Report to the President, The White House
2015: Distinguished Senior Investigator, Society of Behavioral Medicine (Cancer SIG)
2011: Skelton Lecturer (Inaugural), Department of Psychology, Texas Tech University
2004: Minton Hero of Hope Research Medal of Honor, American Cancer Society
2003: Distinguished University Lecturer, Ohio State University
2003: Outstanding Contributions to Health Psychology Award (Div. 38), American Psychological Association
2003: Distinguished Visiting Professor, Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB
2003: Distinguished Visiting Professor, Griffith University and Queensland Cancer Fund, Australia
2003: Excellence in Education Award, Ohio Magazine
2000: Distinguished Scholar Award, Ohio State University
1997: Distinguished Visiting Professor, Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB
1993: Participant, Women in Science and Technology Briefing, The White House
1991: Invited Honorary Member, Western Association of Gynecologic Oncologists
1988: Research Scholar Award, University of Iowa
1987: Gadeski Professor, Cross Cancer Institute and the University of Alberta-Edmonton and UA-Calgary, Canada
1985: Burlington Northern Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Iowa
1983: Invited Honorary Member, International Gynecologic Cancer Society
1982: Sigma Xi
1973: B.S. with High Honors and High Distinction in Psychology
1973: Phi Kappa Phi
1971-1973: Edmund James Scholar, University of Illinois
1972: Psi Chi

Publications 

Andersen, B.L., Anderson, B., & deProsse, C. (1989). Controlled prospective longitudinal study of women with cancer: I. Sexual functioning outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 683-691. And: II. Psychological outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 692-697.

Andersen, B.L., & Cyranowski, J.C. (1994). Women's sexual self schema. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1079-1100.

Andersen, B.L., Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., & Glaser, R. (1994). A biobehavioral model of cancer stress and disease course. American Psychologist, 49, 389-404.

Andersen, B.L., Farrar, W.B., Carson, W.E.III. et al. (2004). Psychological, behavioral, and immune changes following a psychological intervention: A clinical trial. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 22 (17), 3570-3580.

Andersen, B.L., Yang, H.C., Carson, W.E. III, et al. (2008). Psychological intervention improves survival for breast cancer patients: A randomized clinical trial. Cancer, 113, 3450-3458.

Ashmore, J.A., Ditterich, K.W., Conley, C.C., Wright, M.R., Howland, P.S., Huggins, K.L., Cooreman, K., Andrews, P.S, Nicholas, D.R., Roberts, L., Hewitt, L., Scales, J.N., Delap, J.K., Gray, C.A., Tyler, L.A., Grey, C., Whiting, C.M., Brothers, B.M., Ryba, M.M., & Andersen, B.L.  (2019).  Evaluating the effectiveness and implementation of evidenced based treatment:  A multisite hybrid design.  American Psychologist, 74(4), 459-473.

Andersen, B.L., Goyal, N.G., Weiss, D.M., Westbrook, T., Maddocks, K., Byrd, J.C., Johnson, A.J.  (2018).  Cells, cytokines, chemokines, and cancer stress:  A biobehavioral study of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.  Cancer, 124, 3240-3248.

Andersen, B.L., Valentine, T.R., Lo, S.B., Carbone, D.P., Presley, C.J., Shields, P.G.  (2020).  Newly diagnosed patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer:  A clinical description of those with moderate to severe depressive symptoms. Lung Cancer, 145, 195-204.

Andersen, B.L. McElroy, J.P., Carbone, D.P., Presley, C.J., Smith, R.M., Shields, P.G., & Brock, G.N.  (2022, in press).  Psychological symptom trajectories and non-small cell lung cancer survival:  A joint model analysis.  Psychosomatic Medicine doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000001027