Amanda Barany is a graduate student in the Educational Leadership and Learning Technologies program. Her research interests focus on the development and implementation of games as learning tools to support engagement, interest, valuing, and identity development around STEM careers. She is a member of the Games and Learning in Interactive Digital Environments (GLIDE) Lab at Drexel University. 

Barany's previous research focused on interest development around ecology topics among students playing the game Citizen Science, conducted during her employment at the Games + Learning + Society Center. She also worked with the Wisconsin Center for Educational Research (WCER) developing supportive curricula for educators and facilitators looking to use the video game Fair Play as a tool for implicit bias education and prevention. Barany spent five years in the Harackiewicz Interest and Motivation lab in the University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology department studying the effects of utility value and values affirmation interventions on student interest development and academic performance.

As part of her previous research work, Barany has presented at the Games + Learning + Society (GLS) conference, the Early Education and Technology for Children (EETC) conference, and the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference. Prior to studying at Drexel, Amanda earned an undergraduate and masters degree in the school of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with concentrations in criminal and social justice and mental health.