About Our Research Group

Ph: 765-496-6665 (office) 
Fax: 765-494-9830
Email: ccroney@purdue.edu

Education

• PhD, Animal Science, The Pennsylvania State University, 1999
• MS, Animal Science, The Pennsylvania State University, 1999​
• BS, Animal Science, Rutgers University, 1993 

Research

My goal is to better understand how to meet the needs of agricultural (pigs) and companion animals (cats and dogs) so that we can improve the quality of life these animals experience whether they are housed on farms,  maintained in laboratories, or kept in shelters or breeding kennels. I also aim to understand the ethical implications of animal care and use decisions and how people’s values, beliefs and attitudes impact their perceptions of animal agriculture, animal welfare and related communications and policies.

My group uses animal behavior and health to evaluate how well animals are coping in the environments in which they are kept and how they respond to interventions intended to support their well-being (e.g., enhancing the quality and complexity of their environments through enrichment, using low stress handling techniques, designing housing environments that accommodate their behavioral needs).  Our collaborations with social scientists use surveys, questionnaires and focus groups to gauge people’s views and related behaviors on animal welfare issues.  These approaches have helped us to clarify what sources of information people use to inform themselves on animal welfare, how animal welfare may be related to notions of corporate and individual social responsibility, and how these insights may help decision-makers and policy influencers.

Email: barnard4@purdue.edu

Education

• 2011 - PhD, Behavioral Biology, University of Parma
• 2008 - MS, Applied Ethology, University of Parma

Research

Shanis Barnard is an ethologist who graduated at the University of Parma (Italy) in Biological Sciences. Her thesis, on the validation of a temperament test for shelter dogs, was the first step toward her current main areas of interest, which include human-animal relationship, dog behaviour, cognition and welfare. Shanis was awarded her PhD in Behavioral Biology in 2011 where her studies were aimed at investigating temperament and cognition in different dog breeds.

Shanis worked as a researcher at IZSAM, a Public Veterinarian Institute in central Italy, where she was involved in the development of several research projects on companion animal and livestock welfare, and on stray dog and cat population control and management. Her most relevant work focused on the use of animal-based measures as indicators of welfare for dogs housed in rescue shelters. In 2014 she was appointed to a three years Post Doctorate fellowship at Queen’s University Belfast on canine behavior and welfare on a BBSRC funded project.

Shanis Barnard joined Dr. Croney’s lab in 2018, and will be investigating the behavior and welfare of dogs kept and reared in commercial breeding establishments in the U.S.

Her favorite teacher is her pet dog, Mia.

Email: adiana@purdue.edu 

Education

• 2019 – PhD, Animal Behavior and Welfare, University College Dublin (UCD)
  
• 2011 – MSc, Nature Conservation, University of Parma
• 2008 – BSc, Natural Sciences, University of Bari

Research

Dr. Alessia Diana is an ethologist interested in studying animal behavior and cognition to improve the welfare of companion, farm and zoo animals. She obtained a MSc in Nature Conservation at the University of Parma with a thesis in applied ethology on the assessment of the welfare of four species of zoo-housed felids. In 2019, Alessia was awarded a PhD in Veterinary Medicine with major in Animal Behavior and Welfare from UCD and Teagasc. She explored the link between health, welfare and antimicrobial use in pigs by employing aspects of applied ethology, social sciences and automated animal welfare monitoring. She then worked as a postdoc research assistant at the University of Padova on the impact of animal welfare and biosecurity on antimicrobial use in beef cattle.

In 2022, Alessia joined Dr. Croney’s lab as a postdoctoral fellow and her work will focus on evaluating the behavior and welfare of dogs and puppies in commercial breeding kennels in the U.S.

Education

• 2023 – PhD, Biological Sciences, Queen’s University of Belfast, UK
• 2018 – MSc, Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Queen’s University of Belfast, UK
• 2003 – BSc, Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics, Autonomous University of Nuevo León, Mexico 

Research

I am a veterinarian interested in different aspects of animal welfare and behaviour. I am particularly interested in understanding how the animal’s mental and physical states are affected by their living environment, and what changes can be implemented in order to improve the animal’s wellbeing.

In my MSc thesis, using quantitative and qualitative behavioral assessing methods, I evaluated how dogs maintained in Commercial Breeding Facilities reacted to the presence of an unfamiliar person.

My PhD in Biological Sciences also focused on studying the welfare of Commercial Breeding Dogs. Integrating behavioral, physiologicaI and cognitive measures, I explored how the commercial breeding environment affects the behavior and welfare of adult breeding dams at different stages of the reproductive cycle.

Other specific research interests include the study of animal cognition and exploring interspecific (animal-human) communication skills in domestic animals.

My work at the Croney Research Lab focuses on assessing the behaviour and welfare of breeding dams maintained in commercial breeding kennels in the U.S. Specifically, exploring the impact management practices may have on influencing the behavioral and physical health of breeding dams.

Education

• 2017 - PhD, Psychology, University of California at Berkeley

• 2010 - BA, Psychology/Minor in Statistics, California State University East Bay

Research

I am broadly interested in companion animal behavior, cognition, and welfare. My PhD explored the food-storing behavior and social interactions of free-ranging fox squirrels. After my PhD, I was a postdoc at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California at Davis. My research at UC Davis explored the health and behavior of orphaned neonatal kittens, and the social and feeding behaviors of domestic cats.

My research interests include:

• animal play behavior

• the use of enrichment for companion animals

• the effects of early life experiences on later outcomes for companion animals

I am a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (Animal Behavior Society), a Certified Cat Behavior Consultant (International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants), and an Affiliate Member of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior.

Education: 

• BS,  Animal Sciences, Pennsylvania State University
• Ph.D., Comparative and Veterinary Medicine, emphasis on applied ethology and animal welfare science, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Research:

Before joining the Croney Research Group as a Senior Research Associate, Dr. Stella was a USDA Science Fellow with the APHIS-Center for Animal Welfare and a visiting scholar at Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. Her research interests include environmental factors that affect the behavior and welfare of confined animals and the impact of the quality of human-animal interactions on animal welfare.  Her research has focused on assessing the behavior and welfare of domestic cats and dogs housed in biomedical laboratories, shelters, veterinary hospitals, and commercial breeding facilities.