PhD in ABA

Marqueline Cenatus, M.S., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• School-based interventions and problem behavior reduction with students with emotional behavior disorders and autism spectrum disorder
• Behavioral interventions in child welfare settings
• Trauma-informed care

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• ABA and Developmental Disabilities (Graduate Teaching Assistant)

Research Projects Underway:

• Examining the effects of contingency mapping on young children diagnosed with ASD

Emma Devine, M.S., BCaBA

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Research Interests:

• Functional analysis methodology, screening and treatment of severe behavior, alternative methods of reinforcement, nontraditional applications of behavior analysis, and translational research.

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• Introduction to Psychology (Teaching Assistant)

Research Projects Underway:

• The clinical utility of an extended "alone" condition as a screening tool to identify automatically-maintained behaviors.

Stephanie E. Howell, M.A., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• The assessment and treatment of challenging behavior, caregiver training and caregiver-experienced trauma and the impact on training, teaching safety skills to individuals with autism with a focus on caregiver training, and Behavioral Skills Training (BST) in sports.

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• Co-teaching Behavior Assessment and Intervention Planning (BAIP) and a Teaching Assistant for ABA Basic Principles

Research Projects Underway:

• Assessment of data recording practices and responsibilities among direct service providers of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Lynette Johnson, M.S.Ed., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• Evidence-based staff and parent/caregiver training

• Translational research

• Organizational behavior management

• Addressing overarching business barriers

• Enhancing staff performance and procedural integrity

Research Projects Underway:

• Johnson, L. K., Zane, T., & DiGennaro Reed, F. D. (2023). Effects of feedback statements on staff procedural integrity [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas. 

Anh Nguyen, M.S., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• Assessment and treatment of severe challenging behavior
• Barriers to treatment effectiveness
• Staff training

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• Co-Instructor: MHS 4208 Organizational Behavior Management
• Doctoral Teaching Assistant: MHS 6937 Behavior Theory

Marissa Del Vecchio, M.S., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• School-based interventions and problem behavior reduction with students with emotional behavior disorders and autism spectrum disorder
• Behavioral interventions in child welfare settings
• Trauma-informed care
• Classes taught or currently teaching
• Practicum Seminar in ABA (Instructor)
• Single Case Experimental Design (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• Practicum Seminar in ABA (Instructor)
• Single Case Experimental Design (Doctoral Teaching Assistant) 
• ABA and Developmental Disabilities (Teaching Assistant)
• Ethics in ABA (Teaching Assistant) 

Research Projects Underway:

• Evaluating the use of technological devices for increasing on-task behavior for students with emotional behavior disorder
• A meta-analysis of behavioral interventions in child welfare settings 

Mary (Max) Llinás, M.S., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• Automatic Reinforcement
• Animal-Assisted Interventions
• DSM-V Disorders (e.g., Anxiety, Depression, Eating Disorders)
• Organizational Behavior Management 

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• Co-Instructor: MHS 4202 Behavior Assessment and Intervention Planning
• Doctoral Teaching Assistant: EAB 6790 ABA & Developmental Disabilities

Research Projects Underway:

• Discrimination between NCR and environmental enrichment
• The usage of the term NCR since 1993

Madeline Risse, M.S., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• Optimizing the quality of school-wide behavioral management practices
• Maximizing the effectiveness of school-based behavioral assessment and intervention
• Increasing the effectiveness of school personnel training on the use of evidence-based practices
• Improving procedural integrity of universal and individualized behavior management strategies

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• Observational Methods and Functional Assessment in ABA 
  (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)
• Research Methods and Ethics in ABA (Instructor)
• Single Case Experimental Design (Teaching Assistant)
• Practicum Seminar in ABA 
  (Teaching Assistant)

Research Projects Underway:

• An evaluation of the effectiveness of the Prevent-Teach-Reinforce model: A meta-analysis
• A systematic review of teacher training on universal and class-wide behavioral interventions implemented by school personnel
• A meta-analysis of functional communication training for young children with ASD and challenging behavior
• Evaluating technology-based self-monitoring of performance with reinforcement for students with disabilities

Emma Walker, M.A., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• Interdisciplinary behavioral interventions to increase cooperation and adherence to healthcare routines
• BST to train caregivers to increase health related behaviors in individuals with disabilities
• BST to train healthcare professionals to help promote cooperation in patients with disabilities
• Compassionate care and cultural responsiveness in ABA services and healthcare services

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• Co-Instructor: MHS 3204 Fundamentals of ABA
• Teaching Assistant: MHS 6708 ABA Basic Principles

Research Projects Underway:

• Telehealth training of caregivers to increase Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) machine use in adults with Down syndrome and sleep apnea
• Evaluating music’s effect with a treadmill

Arturo Garcia, M.A., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• ABA in Child Welfare and foster care system
• ABA within Department of Juvenile Justice
• Assessment and acquisition of verbal behavior
• Assessment and treatment of automatically maintained problem behaviors

Current Research Projects:

• An experimental analysis of voice volume for children with autism spectrum disorder

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Planning in ABA (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)
• Single Case Experimental Design (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)

Jesenia Giambrone, M.S., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• Assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior
• Contextual variables and barriers to treatment effectiveness
• ABA and the treatment of symptoms of mental diagnoses (RAD,
  ODD, PTSD)

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)
• Functional Assessment (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)

Ariadna Martinez, M.S., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• Autism/developmental disabilities
• Assessment and treatment of problem behavior
• Skill acquisition
• Early intervention and family centered intervention
• Caregiver and teacher training

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• ABA Graduate Practicum Seminar (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)
• ABA Undergraduate Practicum Seminar (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)

Sharayah Tai, M.S., BCBA

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Research interests:

• ABA in health, sports, and fitness
• Increasing long-term motivation in individuals
• Enhancing athletic performance and improving athletic behaviors to reduce injury-risk factors

TA courses:

• Research Methods and Ethical Issues in ABA
  Basic Principles of ABA

Shreeya Deshmukh, M.S., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• ABA and health, sports, and fitness
• Behavioral interventions and coaching procedures
• ABA therapy in a dance context

Current Research Projects:

• A comparison of the effectiveness of verbal feedback and video feedback to improve dance skills
• An analysis of the accuracy and completeness of verbal and video feedback during dance training
• Reviewing behavioral interventions used to promote physical activity in individuals with IDD
  
  

Classes taught or currently teaching:

• ABA in Complex Communities (Instructor)
• Research Methods and Ethical Issues in Behavior Analysis (Instructor)
• ABA Basic Principles (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)

Asha Fuller, M.S., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• Behavioral interventions in child welfare settings
• Interventions for addiction recovery and maintenance
• Teaching safety and self-advocacy skills
• Staff training
• Translational research

Current Research Projects:

• A systematic review of delay discounting and alcohol use interventions in humans
• Evaluating BST to teach identification of choking hazards to substitute caregivers
• A meta-analysis of behavioral interventions in child welfare settings 
   

Classes taught or currently teaching:

• Observational Methods and Functional Analysis (Instructor)
• Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Planning in Applied Behavior Analysis (Instructor)
• Applied Behavior Analysis in Complex Community Environments (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)
• Experimental Analysis of Behavior (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)
• Single Case Experimental Design (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)

Alyssa Rojas, M.S., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• Prevention of problem behavior
• Assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior
• Assessment and treatment of automatically maintained problem behavior
• Early intervention
• Interdisciplinary school-based intervention
• Teacher training

Current Research Projects:

• Systematic literature review of antecedent based strategies for vocal and motor stereotypy
• Precursor Identification Assessment
• Descriptive study on appropriate behaviors of typically developing preschoolers
• Function analysis of topographies of problem behavior

Classes taught or currently teaching:

• Applied Behavior Analysis in Autism and Developmental Disabilities (Instructor)
• Applied Behavior Analysis in Autism and Developmental Disabilities (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)
• Practicum Seminar (Doctoral Teaching Assistant)

Danielle Russo, M.S., BCBA

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 Research Interests:

• Multidisciplinary school-based services
• Assessment and treatment of problem behavior
• Evidence-based staff training
• Early intervention
• Increasing quality of school-based behavioral assessment and intervention

Current Research Projects:

• Using class-wide intervention to increase handwashing in schools
• Review of multicomponent function-based interventions implemented by school personnel for students with disabilities
• Review of teacher training on use of function-based interventions for students with disabilities
• Evaluation of teacher-implemented latency-based functional analysis and intervention in the classroom setting

Classes taught or currently teaching:

• Functional Assessment (Teaching Assistant)
• Behavior Modification (Teaching Assistant
• Practicum Seminar in ABA (Co-Instructor)
• Practicum Seminar in ABA (Instructor)

Amalix Flores, M.S., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• Translational Research
• Adventitious reinforcement of problem behavior/ errors
• High-Probability Instructional Sequence Procedural Variations and Effectiveness

Research Projects Underway:

• High-Probability Instructional Sequence: A Review on Current Procedural Variations

• A Survey on Current Practices for Designing and Implementing High-Probability Instructional Sequences

• The Effects of Choice on High-Probability Instructional Sequence Effectiveness

• Assessment of the Reinforcer Value of High-Probability Instructional Sequence

• Behavioral Principles Survey

• Evaluating the Effects of Multiple Exemplar Training on Tact-to-Mand Transfer in Children with Autism

• Evaluating the Class Pass Intervention: Reducing Disruptive Behaviors of Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Classes taught or currently teaching:

• Single-Case Experimental Design

  Child Clinical Psychology- Behavior Therapy

• Basic Statistics

• Psychology: Basic Process

• Behavior Modification

• Research Methods

• Health Socio-Anhropology

• Practicum Seminar in Applied Behavior Analysis

• Applied Behavior Analysis and Developmental Disabilities

• Practicum in Applied Behavior Analysis

Trevor Maxfield, M.s., BCBA

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Research Interests:

• Safety Skills

• Incorporation of technology into treatment

Research Projects Underway:

• An Investigation into the Effectiveness of Bullying Interventions: A Meta-Analysis
• Video Self-modeling to Teach Firearm Safety Skills
• Evaluation of Parent Implemented Web-Based Behavior Skills Training for Firearm Safety Skills Group Study

Classes taught or currently teaching:

• Practicum in Applied Behavior Analysis

• Research Methods and Ethical Issues in Applied Behavior Analysis