PhD in ABA

Meet Our Current PhD Students

2024 cohort

Kimberly Ford

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

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

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)

2023 COHORT

Marqueline Cenatus, M.S., BCaBA

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

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

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

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

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

2022 Cohort

Marissa Del Vecchio

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, MS, BCBA

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, MS, BCBA

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