PhD in ABA

Kimberly Ford, M.A., BCBA

View CV

Research Interests:

• Alternatives to Physical Guidance
• Prompt Dependency

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis (Graduate Teaching Assistant)
• Observational Methods and Functional Assessment (Graduate Teaching Assistant)

Kyla Pagliai, M.S.

View CV

Research Interests:

• Skill acquisition, functional analyses variations, assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, assessment instruments, and the evaluation of clinician effectiveness

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• Research Methods in Applied Behavior Analysis (Graduate Teaching Assistant)
• Single Case Experimental Design (Graduate Teaching Assistant)

Research Projects Underway:

Current research project aims to develop and validate an indirect assessment tool, employing clinicians as sole respondents, to evaluate the Relative Reinforcing Efficacy (RRE) of social interactions for children with ASD. This study incorporates a concurrent operant reinforcer assessment with varied response options, to evaluate the tool's utility. Another current research initiative is evaluating mand training to increase spontaneous requests to adults regarding conflict with peers.

Claudia Reyes, M.S., BCBA

View CV

Research Interests:

• Behavior Reduction of High Intensity Problem Behaviors
• Reducing Reactivity in Treatment Integrity
• Application of ABA in Childhood Sexual Assault and Exploitation

Classes Taught or Currently Teaching:

• Organizational Behavior Management (Graduate Teaching Assistant)
• Applied Behavior Analysis Basic Principles (Graduate Teaching Assistant)

Marqueline Cenatus, M.S., BCBA

View CV

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

View CV

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

View CV

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

View CV

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

View CV

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

View CV

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

View CV

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

View CV

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

View CV

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

View CV

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

View CV

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

View CV

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

View CV

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

Alyssa Rojas, M.S., BCBA

View CV

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

View CV

 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

View CV

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

View CV

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