Graduate Students

Janae’ Pendergrass: Janae’ earned her B.S. in Psychology from Spelman College in 2021. After graduating, she worked as a postbac in the single subject research lab at Marcus Autism Center where she ran functional analyses and provided treatment to children with severe challenging behavior. She simultaneously worked as an RBT in the Language and Learning Center at Marcus. Her research interests include using a collaborative approach toward increasing cooperation with hair grooming procedures for Black children with autism, evaluating fluctuations in behavior sensitivity during periods of pain and discomfort, and applying behavior analysis methodology to individuals with Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS).

Nicole “Nikki” Perrino: Nikki graduated from the University of Florida with a B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in Behavior Analysis and a minor in disabilities in society. During her time at UF, she discovered her passion for applied behavior analysis, which led her to pursue a job as an RBT at the Florida Autism Center – Specialty Centers Pediatric Feeding Disorders program housed at the UF’s Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment. In this position, she provides behavior-analytic feeding services to children with Pediatric Feeding Disorder and Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. Her clinical interests include caregiver training, oral hygiene, and the long-term maintenance of behavior-analytic feeding intervention.

Laura De Zayas: Laura received her B.A. from Florida International University in 2019. During this time, she volunteered at the IBIS clinic at the University of Miami and became a BCaBA. She then received her M.S. in Behavior Analysis from the University of South Florida and became a BCBA in 2022. She has experience working with children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. Her research interests include conversation skills, social skills, social validity, and preferences.

Arielle Marshall: Arielle earned her B.A. in Psychology and her M.A. in Applied Behavior Analysis from Rutgers University. As an undergraduate, she volunteered as a research assistant at the Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services. During her graduate studies, she completed her master’s thesis under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Mitteer and Dr. Brian Greer, while also working as a Program Coordinator at the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, where she supported adults with autism spectrum disorder and challenging behavior. She is currently a BCBA, and her research interests focus on the assessment and treatment of problem behavior, relapse of problem behavior and applying behavior analysis to individuals with Smith-Magenis Syndrome.

Carley Smith: Carley earned her B.S. in psychology from the University of Florida in 2023. She then worked as a Clinical Specialist on the Neurobehavioral Inpatient Unit at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Carley earned her M.A. in behavior analysis from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2025. Her clinical experience is focused on the assessment and treatment of severe challenging behavior; her research interests include translating behavioral principles to diverse populations and enhancing the social validity of behavior analytic services.

Senior Undergraduate Research Assistants

Alyssa Thompson: Alyssa is an undergraduate student at the University of Florida, pursuing a B.A. in Criminology and a B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in Behavior Analysis. Her interest in behavior analysis led her to pursue a job as an RBT at the Florida Autism Center – Specialty Centers Pediatric Feeding Disorders program housed at the UF’s Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment. In this position, she provides behavior-analytic feeding services to children with Pediatric Feeding Disorder and Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. Her research interests include discomfort symptoms, caregiver training, and skill generalization.