Regan Mandryk
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Regan Lee Mandryk is a Professor of Computer Science at the
University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
. She specializes in Human-computer interaction.


Early life and education

Mandryk was born on December 9, 1975, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Mandryk earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the
University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...
in 1997. She completed her
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
and PhD at
Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...
in British Columbia. Mandryk's PhD dissertation applied physiological measures to model user emotion in interactive play environments. She was awarded the 2005 Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medal in Applied Sciences and was nominated for the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies Distinguished Dissertation Award. She then completed post-doctoral fellowships at the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
and
Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...
.


Career

Upon completing her fellowships, Mandryk joined the
University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
's Human-Computer Interaction Lab under the guidance of Carl Gutwin to research video games. She had originally never looked at the university for she had no family connections to Saskatoon but was convinced by Gutwin's work. As an
assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...
, she co-received a
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada, CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering rese ...
grant to study how to increase university-aged students physical activity. Alongside Kevin Stanley, they developed a game called Gemini which would incorporate a player's real-world activities such as walking, running or riding a bicycle into a role-playing computer game. In January 2015, Mandryk was selected as an inaugural member of the
Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. She later received the University of Saskatchewan's New Researcher Award. The following year, Mandryk and researchers at the Interaction Lab began developing concentration exercises to assist children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Their game involved the player's avatar runs endlessly forward, collecting coins and avoiding obstacles, while the player wore a headset to monitor their brain activity. Through the use of positive reinforcement, Mandryk's research team were attempting to train those with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder to focus. She also received a $1.65 million grant to create a graduate program in game-user research for the Saskatchewan Waterloo Games User Research Initiative. Mandryk later began researching whether video games could be used to assess mental health. This project earned her a E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship, $250,000 over two years, by the
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada, CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering rese ...
to fund her research. During the
COVID-19 pandemic in North America The first cases of the COVID-19 pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 in North America were reported in the United States on 23 January 2020. Cases were reported in all North American countries after Saint Kitts and Nevis confirmed a case on 2 ...
, Mandryk promoted the use of video games while isolating as a way to deal with stress, anxiety and other mental health challenges. She said that due to social isolation, children were missing out on interactions with their friends and video games were a way to socialize.


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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandryk, Regan Living people 1975 births University of Winnipeg alumni University of Saskatchewan faculty Simon Fraser University alumni Video game researchers