Mary Huntsberry

Education

  1. Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Psychology

    2000 to 2004 James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

  2. Master of Arts in Psychology: Animal Behavior

    2004 to 2006 American University, Washington, DC

Certifications

  • Associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (ACAAB) by the Animal Behavior Society, Jan. 1st, 2010 – Dec. 31st 2014
  • Registered Laboratory Animal Technician (RLAT) by the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, April 2011
  • Winchester Medical Center, Animal Assisted Therapy Certification: WMC VA AAT 0304, Fall 2003 - 2007

Invited Talks

  • Williams, N., & Huntsberry, M.E. (2009, February). The team approach to difficult cases involving rescue dogs: The Michael Vick fighting dogs. Talk given at the Interdisciplinary Forum for Applied Animal Behavior meeting, Tucson, AZ.
  • Williams, N., & Huntsberry, M.E. (2010, July). Aggression: Innovative Techniques for a Difficult Problem . Talk given at the Interdisciplinary Forum for Applied Animal Behavior meeting, Williamsburg, VA.

Poster Presentations

  • Huntsberry, M. E., Serdikoff, S. L., & Cover K. (2004, May). An experimental analysis of tertiary conditioned reinforcement as applied in various animal training practices. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavior Analysis:International, Boston, MA.
  • Huntsberry, M. E., & Weiss, S. J. (2005, March). An investigation of intradimensional composite-stimulus control: Compounding single modality stimuli with pigeons. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Virginia Association for Behavior Analysis, Harrisonburg, VA.
  • Huntsberry, M. E., & Weiss, S. J. (2006, March). Color Dominance Revealed in the Pigeon through Intra-dimensional Stimulus Compounding. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Baltimore, MD.
  • Huntsberry, M. E., Ruggiero, A. M., Christensen, C. J., Roma. P. G., Silberberg, A., & Suomi, S. J. (2006, August). Operant Conditioning Fails to Facilitate Mirror Self-Recognition in Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus apella). Poster presented at the 30th meeting of the American Society of Primatologists, Winston-Salem, NC.
  • Paukner, A., Huntsberry, M. E., Ferrari, P. F., & Suomi, S. J. (2008, June). Imitation Recognition in Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus apella). Poster presented at the 31st meeting of the American Society of Primatologists, West Palm Beach, FL.
  • Huntsberry, M. E., & Weed, J. L. (2008, November). Enhancements to the Canine Socialization and Training Program at the National Institutes of Health. Poster presented at the 59th AALAS National meeting, Indianapolis, IN.
  • Paukner, A., Huntsberry, M.E., & Suomi, S. J. (2009, September). Visual Discrimination of Male and Female Faces by Infant Rhesus Macaques. Poster presented at the 32nd meeting of the American Society of Primatologists, San Diego, CA.
  • Huntsberry, M.E., Young, J., Beasley, M., & Mattison, J. (2010, July). Effect of calorie restriction on fine motor performance in rhesus monkeys. Poster presented at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Animal Behavior Society, Williamsburg, VA.
  • Huntsberry, M. E., Nudo, R. J., McNeal, D., Mercken, E., deCabo, R., & Mattison, J. A. (2011, August). Modeling and Measuring Sarcopenia in Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri sciureus). Poster presented at the 37th Annual National Capital Area Branch Regional AALAS Seminar, National Harbor, MD.

Publications

  1. Roma, P. G., Silberberg, A., Huntsberry, M. E., Christensen, C. J., Ruggiero, A. M., & Suomi, S. J. (2007). Mark tests for mirror self-recognition in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) Trained to Touch Marks. American Journal of Primatology, 69, 1-12.
  2. Huntsberry, M. E., Charles, D., & Weed, J. L. (2008). Canines and pool side fun at the national institutes of health. Tech Talk, 13(2), 4.
  3. Huntsberry, M. E., Charles, D., Adams, K. M., & Weed, J. L. (2008). A quick and easy enrichment device for pigs (Sus scrofa) at the national institutes of health. Lab Animal, 37(9), 411-4.
  4. Silberberg, A., Roma, P. G., Huntsberry, M. E., Warren-Boulton, F. R., Sakagami, T., Ruggiero, A. M., & Suomi, S. J. (2008). On loss aversion in capuchin monkeys. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 89, 145-155.
  5. Paukner, A., Huntsberry, M. E., & Suomi, S. J. (2009). Tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) spontaneously use visual, but not acoustic information to find hidden food items. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 123(1), 26-33.
  6. Paukner, A., Huntsberry, M. E., & Suomi, S. J. (2010). Visual discrimination of male and female faces in infant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Developmental Psychobiology, 52, 54-61.

Related Employment

  1. Research Assistant / Grad Student

    Sep 2004 to Jul 2006
    American University Laboratory of Learning and Behavior
    Washington, DC

    Worked on several studies using the principles of conditioning and learning to train rats to lever press for various primary reinforcers.

    Master’s thesis: “Attentional Processing in Pigeons: A Test of Composite-Stimulus Control.” An experimentally designed study that involved training pigeons to peck a touch-sensitive computer monitor.

  2. Research Fellow / Grad Student

    Jul 2006 to Aug 2007
    National Institues of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Laboratory of Comparative Ethology
    Poolesville, MD

    Worked with a variety of nonhuman primates on various behavior oriented studies. Interactions included cognitive testing and behavioral observation and assessment. Assisted in studies on mirror self recognition and behavioral economics with capuchin monkeys that involved shaping the monkeys to touch targets and exchange tokens. Completed research investigating the selective-value effect, loss aversion, inferential reasoning, and face recognition in capuchins and infant rhesus macaques. Conducted ethological research investigating the effects of introducing 2 unfamiliar males to a stable troop of 19 capuchin monkeys.

  3. Animal Behaviorist

    Aug 2007 to Jun 2009
    SoBran, Inc National Institutes of Health, Department of Veterinary Resources
    Bethesda & Poolesville, MD

    Managed the canine behavior program. Primary responsibilities included performing entrance and annual assessments, developing enrichment plans, pair housing dogs, conducting weekly trainings with caretakers and vet staff, and writing standard operating procedures for handling dogs. Created individualized behavior treatment plans for dogs and monkeys exhibiting abnormal behavior. Clicker trained pigs to safely enter and exit a sling for veterinary maintenance procedures. Pair-housed rabbits and monkeys.

  4. Animal Behaviorist & Veterinary Technician

    Jun 2009 to Oct 2011
    SoBran, Inc National Institute on Aging, Laboratory of Experimental Gerontology
    Poolesville , MD

    Developed a study investigating sarcopenia, age-related muscle loss, modeled in squirrel monkeys. Conducted behavioral and physiological research on rhesus macaques for a calorie restriction study. Tasks included shaping monkeys to retrieve a food item from a monkey Motor Activation Panel, performing cognitive tasks on a touch-sensitive computer monitor, and measuring activity level.

    Veterinary procedures included physical examinations, dentals, and collecting whole blood and serum for analysis.

  5. Animal Behavior Consultant

    Oct 2011 to Oct 2011
    Anti-Cruelty Behavior Unit ASPCA
    Gaithersburg, MD

    Assisted with the ASPCA's deployment to a puppy mill raid.

  6. Animal Behavior Consultant

    Nov 2011 to present
    Animal Behavior Associates
    Gaithersburg, MD

    Consult on educational aids for pet owners and professionals.

Volunteer Experience

  1. Trainer

    Aug 2001 to Aug 2007
    Winchester Medical Center Animal Assisted Therapy Program
    Winchester, VA

    Participated in 2 years of extensive dog training for the Animal Assisted Therapy program at Winchester Medical Center. After becoming certified I began visiting hospitalized patients and volunteered as an assistant trainer working individually with class members during each session.

    Currently continue training my dogs for obedience and agility competitions as well as herding and animal assisted therapy.

  2. Animal Behavior Intern

    Apr 2008 to present
    Animal Behavior Consultant Nancy Williams
    Manchester, MD

    I have observed and participated in treatment of 300+ dog behavior cases with Nancy Williams since April, 2008. Seventy percent of the cases deal with aggression. The remaining cases deal with behavior wellness, elimination issues, barking, phobia, and repetitive behavior.

    Visit Nancy at DogsWithIssues.com.