Current Students
Katie Cucinotta, M. S.
Katie Cucinotta is a fourth-year graduate student in the Behavior Analysis program at West Virginia University. She earned her B.S. in Physics (2021) from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and she earned her M.S. from WVU in 2023. Katie has an applied background working with children and adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental disabilities. Her thesis evaluated group contingencies to increase physical activity in adults.
Corynn Simon
Corryn is a first-year graduate student in the Behavior Analysis program at West Virginia University. She earned a B.A. in Psychology from Colorado Mesa University, and then she spent three years working as a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT). Corynn’s research interests focus on exploring effective behavioral interventions and integrating these strategies into classroom settings, early intervention approaches, and fidelity.
Summer 2023 (from left to right): Katie Cucinotta (PhD Student), Miah Robertson (REU Student), Marina Ferro (REU Student), Haleh Amanieh (PhD Student)
Previous Students
Jennifer M. Owsiany, PhD, BCBA
Jennifer M. Owsiany earned her PhD from the Behavior Analysis program at West Virginia University in 2019. She has previous experience with conducting skill acquisition research for children with autism spectrum disorders, writing and implementing skill acquisition programs, implementing behavioral interventions and assessments, and training and supervising undergraduate assistants in research and clinic settings. Jenni’s dissertation investigated the effectiveness of a behavioral intervention package on increasing physical activity in adults.
Kacey R. Finch, PhD, BCBA
Kacey Finch earned her PhD from the Behavior Analysis program at West Virginia University in 2023. She earned her B.A. in psychology (2018) from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota and her M.S. in Behavior Analysis at West Virginia University. Kacey’s research interests include clinical and translational models of relapse, concurrent schedules of reinforcement, and assessment and treatment of challenging behavior. Her thesis investigated the occurrence of renewal during ongoing implementation of omission training and her dissertation focused on the role of context fading on mitigation of ABA and ABC renewal.
Lindsey Hronek, PhD, BCBA
Lindsey Hronek earned her PhD in 2023 from the Behavior Analysis program at West Virginia University. She earned her M.S. in Clinical Psychology (2018) from California Lutheran University. Lindsey has an applied background working primarily with children and young adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for the past 5 years. She earned her BCBA in 2018 after completing the BCBA course sequence at University of California, Santa Barbara. Broadly, her research interests include topics related to training clinicians, treatment fidelity, and differential reinforcement. Her dissertation investigated the effects of omission and commission treatment integrity errors on responding during DRO.
Haleh Amanieh, PhD.
Haleh graduated with her PhD in Behavior Analysis in 2024 from West Virginia University. She earned her B.S. in psychology at the University of Florida in 2016. She then took 2 years to go on outdoor adventures, conduct canine behavior research, and work with children with autism before starting the Behavior Analysis program at WVU in 2018. She received her M.S. in 2021 with her thesis that involved mitigating the effects of delayed punishment. Her dissertation evaluated a human-operant effort manipulation and effects of effort disparity on renewal. Haleh's primary professional interests include undergraduate education and disseminating behavior analysis to laypeople. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in social work and teaching for the WVU Psychology Department.
Mike Mathews M.A., BCBA
Mike Mathews earned his M.A. in Psychology (2016) from University of North Carolina Wilmington. Mike has experience writing and implementing skill acquisition programs and interventions for challenging behavior, as well as training and supervising undergraduate research assistants, in an alternative education setting. Mike's interests include assessment and intervention for challenging behavior, skill acquisition, and developing technology to maximize efficiency in applied research and practice.
Brianna Sarno, M. S.
Brianna Sarno earned her Master’s degree in the Behavior Analysis program at West Virginia University in 2022. She earned her B.A. in Psychology (2019) from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) in North Adams, Massachusetts. Brianna has a modest experimental background from her research experience at MCLA, primarily looking at response duration and delayed reinforcement in rats. Additionally, she has some applied experience working in-home with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental disabilities on skill acquisition and reducing problem behavior. Brianna has also worked with individuals diagnosed with other disorders, including Down syndrome, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and Fragile X Syndrome. Some of Brianna's research interests include severe problem behavior in children, psychiatric disorders, impulsive choice, and behavioral pharmacology.
Fall 2019: (From left to right): Freddie Graybill (Undergraduate student), Jenni Owsiany (Doctoral Student), Kathryn Kestner, Kacey Finch (Doctoral Student), Bri Sarno (Doctoral Student)
![Fall 2021: (From left to right): Mike McKeown (Undergraduate RA), Tera Waterman (Undergraduate RA), Katie Cucinotta (Doctoral Student),Kacey Finch (Doctoral Student), Lindsey Hronek (Doctoral Student), Emma Hines (Undergraduate RA), Bri Sarno (Doctoral Student), Haleh Amanieh (Doctoral Student) [Not Pictured: Matt Kloska (Undergraduate RA)]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/554d25cee4b0e94d5db00e15/1633370067230-EOISS30GAL60A9LFBVD0/Lab+Photo+Oct+2021+%28Cropped%29.jpg)
Fall 2021: (From left to right): Mike McKeown (Undergraduate RA), Tera Waterman (Undergraduate RA), Katie Cucinotta (Doctoral Student),Kacey Finch (Doctoral Student), Lindsey Hronek (Doctoral Student), Emma Hines (Undergraduate RA), Bri Sarno (Doctoral Student), Haleh Amanieh (Doctoral Student) [Not Pictured: Matt Kloska (Undergraduate RA)]
Spring 2023 (from left to right): Katie Cucinotta (PhD student), Lindsey Hronek (PhD Student), Ashe Walker (Undergraduate RA), Haleh Amanieh (PhD student), Bailey Dixon (Undergraduate RA), Eliza Adkins (Undergraduate RA), Kacey Finch (PhD student)