Nhlalala Mavundza participates in the 2015 Millennial Trains Project Journey

Nhlalala Mavundza, a Fulbright Student from South
Africa pursuing a Ph.D. in neuroscience in Kent State
University’s College of Arts and Sciences, participated in
the third annual Millennial Trains Project voyage, which
aims to develop international entrepreneurial leaders, draw
attention to opportunities for growth and advancements in
American communities, and inspire the millennial generation
to pursue a new American dream.

Nhlalala Mavundza, a Fulbright Student from South Africa pursuing a Ph.D. in neuroscience in Kent State University’s College of Arts and Sciences, traveled from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., this past May as part of the third annual Millennial Trains Project (MTP) voyage. The aim of the cross-country journey was to develop international entrepreneurial leaders, draw attention to opportunities for growth and advancements in American communities, and inspire the millennial generation to pursue a new American dream. On board the train, six participants of the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Program joined 19 young American entrepreneurs to conduct their own projects, engaging with community-based programs and social entrepreneurs in American cities along the way.

Mavundza’s project examined the measures southern U.S. cities have taken to combat rising obesity rates. Mavundza also holds a B.S. in physiological sciences from Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and her current research is in the neuroscience of obesity and NEAT lab, which focuses on the environmental modulation of skeletal muscle thermogenesis and energy expenditure.

More than half of the states with a high obesity rate in the United States are located in the south, a fact that inspired Mavundza’s Millennial Trains Project research to explore obesity prevention and the correlation between poverty and obesity in many southern U.S. cities. Her research focuses on the availability of obesity prevention and treatment resources, such as school cafeteria lunch plans, exercise programs and affordable bike rentals in each city to low-income families.

The Millennial Trains Project was founded by Fulbright U.S. Student Program alumnus, Patrick Dowd, based on his Fulbright experience in India. The six Fulbrighters, from Afghanistan, Cambodia, El Salvador, Iraq, Poland and South Africa, were selected by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to gain an in-depth understanding of life in the United States and to strengthen their skills in leadership, social entrepreneurship and communication.

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright.

For more information about Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences, visit www.kent.edu/cas.