Emma Rubin, a second-year physical therapy doctoral student, died Oct. 5 of ovarian cancer. She was 23.

Rubin, born in Frederick, Maryland, received her bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation science with honors from the University of Pittsburgh in 2025, and maintained a strong academic record during her three semesters at the School of Medicine & Health Sciences, all while spending her free time volunteering with patients and animals. Her friends and family remember her as a thoughtful, selfless friend and daughter and someone who always made time to support others.

“I would describe her as the most amazing, kind, giving person I’ve really ever met,” Lisa Rubin, her mother, said.

Lisa Rubin said her daughter had a “sarcastic wit” that always made her family “burst out laughing” and continued to crack jokes throughout her illness. She said Rubin once submitted a paper for class while in the hospital awaiting surgery, despite being on morphine for her pain.

“At the top, she wrote, ‘Please excuse this because I’m on morphine,’ and then she submitted the paper,” Lisa Rubin said. “She was laying in there cracking up because she thought it was the funniest thing ever.”

Rubin was heavily involved with the First Baptist Church in Maryland, according to her obituary. Lisa Rubin said her daughter was passionate about mission work, and the family went on a mission trip every year while she was in middle and high school. 

She also said her daughter cared about animals, including being “obsessed” with the family’s golden retriever, Annie, and was part of a group that helped train and babysit service dogs while attending school in Pittsburgh.

She said Emma Rubin enjoyed sports — particularly women’s sports — and faithfully attended women’s volleyball games at Pittsburgh and cheered for the Washington Spirit. She said Rubin was a competitive cheerleader at Pittsburgh and took up pole vaulting in high school.

“They grabbed her to pole vault, and she went to states,” Lisa Rubin said. “She didn’t know anything about it, and she just picked up that pole and was flying.”

She said when her daughter realized the severity of her illness, she began buying gifts for all her loved ones, showing the compassion she had for those around her. She said Rubin showed similar compassion for her family and would drive to Pittsburgh, where her 95-year-old grandfather lives alone, at least once a month to take him to dinner and drive him around town.

“She just jumped in anytime anyone needed her but then also could just be the most fun that I’ve ever had, shopping or whatever,” Lisa Rubin said.

Daniel Millan, a second-year physical therapy doctoral student, said Rubin was one of the first students in the program to ask to meet up before their classes started in August 2025. He said Rubin looked after him and acted as his “personal tour guide,” recommending restaurants and activities in D.C., since she was more familiar with the DMV area.

“I was definitely a lot more nervous than I had liked to come off, but knowing that I had someone as thoughtful and as caring as her in my corner, it really just helped me out so much with the transition,” Millan said.

He said Rubin was a strong student, maintaining a 4.0 GPA for the three semesters she was in the physical therapy doctoral program, and she always helped him and her other classmates out with classwork.

Millan said Rubin always showed up for others, including when she cheered on a group of their friends at a “turkey trot” 5K run last November, waiting at the end of the race with cutout turkeys she brought them. He said Rubin was also the only student in the doctoral cohort who wasn’t a player to attend every one of his intramural basketball games.

“She was just really the sweetest thing,” Millan said. “If I were to try to condense a word that could describe her, she was so thoughtful.”

Mitchell Rubin, Rubin’s father, said his daughter was committed to using physical therapy to help people who needed the most assistance and sought to practice pediatric or neurologic physical therapy, which frequently treats patients with brain or nervous system conditions impacting their movement.

He said Rubin described her nine months at GW as the best time of her life because she loved the classes, professors and internships and was able to build friendships with all the students in the program. 

“She had really found that this was her place,” Mitchell Rubin said. “That’s why we, as hard as it is to say, we’re just so thankful that she had an opportunity to experience that because she found her home.”

Maritoni Marollano, a second-year physical therapy doctoral student and Rubin’s roommate, described her as selfless, brave and a “listening ear” for her friends. She said Rubin always prioritized spending time with her friends or helping them with classwork, even when she was in pain due to her illness.

“She made me feel that I was a very important part of her life,” Marollano said. “And she was also a very important part of my life. She made me feel seen.”

Marollano said when she failed a practical lab exam during her first semester in the program, she told Rubin about it over the phone on her way home. She said Rubin came home with her favorite Trader Joe’s snacks, and the pair watched “Dancing with the Stars” together that night.

“For a few days, she just kept on bringing me my favorite snacks,” Marollano said. “That was very memorable for me. She did make me feel really appreciated and good and heard.”

Ella Iorns, a second-year physical therapy doctoral student, said Rubin’s ovarian cancer symptoms began to worsen after completing her first year of physical therapy school, but she continued to show up to classes, complete homework assignments and support her classmates.

“Her hard work and her determination through everything and her courage is something that I’ll always carry on and never forget,” Iorns said.

Iorns said she and other members of the program wore teal ribbons representing ovarian cancer awareness at Rubin’s funeral, and she wears it on her white coat to remind her of Rubin during each practical lab exam.

“It just makes me realize what kind of friends that I want in my future, and I’ll never forget how you should be cared for as a person because of her,” Iorns said.

Fiona McIntyre, a second-year physical therapy doctoral student, said Rubin was their cohort’s pro bono chair, facilitating the program’s connection with the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts physical therapy clinic in Northeast D.C., where GW frequently sends students to volunteer to provide free services to patients.

McIntyre said Rubin volunteered at clinics around the DMV about once a month to screen older adults for fall risk and balance, which she said showed Rubin put others before herself, since she could have spent the weekends going home or spending time with friends.

“She really showed how much she cared for others by adding all these extra hours onto her semester just to help you know other people in the community,” McIntyre said.

Jason Dring, an assistant professor of health, human function and rehabilitation services who taught two of Rubin’s classes, said he traveled with her to a conference about pro bono physical therapy that focused on providing treatment to those who would not otherwise have access. He said that trip showed Rubin cared about giving back to the community and aspired to become a physical therapist, even in just her first year of the program.

Dring said Rubin worked hard to remain on track with her schoolwork alongside her classmates during the early stages of her cancer and said she continued to do “amazing” work.

“I admired her perseverance, and I think that determination was an important part of who she was,” Dring said in an email.

Rubin is survived by her sister Sarah Rubin, parents Lisa and Mitchell Rubin and her dog Annie, according to her obituary.

Editor’s Note: If any family members, friends or colleagues of Emma Rubin would like to provide further comment for the story, email The Hatchet at [email protected].

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