{"id":74347,"date":"2026-02-10T08:34:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T13:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=74347"},"modified":"2026-02-18T08:41:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T13:41:47","slug":"welcome-to-chattanooga-new-utc-assistant-professor-honored-as-outstanding-dietetic-educator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/02\/welcome-to-chattanooga-new-utc-assistant-professor-honored-as-outstanding-dietetic-educator\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Chattanooga: New UTC assistant professor honored as outstanding dietetic educator"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Assistant

Dr. Hemangi Mavadiya teaches in UTC\u2019s Master of Public Health Nutrition and Dietetics program. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

When Assistant Professor Hemangi Mavadiya arrived at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga last August, she was fresh off completing her Ph.D. and preparing to teach her first semester as a full-time faculty member.<\/p>\n

Six months later, she is already being recognized by area peers.<\/p>\n

Mavadiya has been named Outstanding Dietetic Educator of the Year by the Chattanooga Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (CAND), a local professional organization affiliated with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The award recognizes excellence in teaching, mentorship and contributions to the preparation of future nutrition and dietetics professionals.<\/p>\n

Mavadiya, who teaches and advises students in UTC\u2019s Master of Public Health (MPH) Nutrition and Dietetics track, is a registered dietitian nutritionist and a national board-certified health and wellness coach with prior experience as a clinical dietitian in Southern California. She holds an MPH in nutrition from Loma Linda University in California and earned her Ph.D. in public health from the University of California, Irvine.<\/p>\n

Mavadiya said her path to teaching began early, shaped by watching her mother, a professor of linguistics in India.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeaching has always been so close to my heart,\u201d Mavadiya said. \u201cComing here, I really got this opportunity to fully express myself as a teacher, as a professor, and working one-on-one with students. That felt like coming back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sense of purpose translated quickly into the classroom. Professor Eric Hungenberg, head of UTC\u2019s Department of Health and Human Performance, said it is unusual to see a new faculty member take on so much so early.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has come in and hit the ground running,\u201d Hungenberg said. \u201cIt\u2019s rare to see a faculty member take such initiative in the classroom to adapt courses, innovate and design experiential learning opportunities. It\u2019s infrequent for a faculty member to be characterized by her students as innovative, engaging, one who is consistently inciting critical thinking in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the recognition from CAND reflects both Mavadiya\u2019s approach to teaching and the department\u2019s broader emphasis on relevance and connection to practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chattanooga Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has long supported our program, our faculty and our students,\u201d Hungenberg said. \u201cThey care deeply about creating experiential learning for students, and the things that Hemangi is doing exemplify that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mavadiya said she draws on her clinical and research experience in the classroom, along with a belief that \u201cstudents learn best by doing.\u201d She emphasizes active learning, case studies and skill development, while also paying close attention to how course material is organized and delivered.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we have wonderful ideas in our head, and we have it all in Canvas, but it\u2019s not clear or placed systematically in a way that students can really interpret it the way we want them to,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I\u2019ve worked a lot on streamlining my courses so there\u2019s more clarity and fewer questions for students.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also recently received a classroom mini-grant to make one of her courses more experiential, allowing students to work directly with equipment such as glucometers and blood pressure monitors\u2014skills they will need in professional practice.<\/p>\n

Much of Mavadiya\u2019s teaching and research centers on small, actionable habits. Her research interests include diet-related behaviors, cancer survivorship and cancer epidemiology, and how modifiable choices shape long-term health outcomes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmall changes are so important,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s research showing that if you start a meal with protein or vegetables before carbohydrates, that can help with satiety. Or chewing your food well, giving the gut and brain time to communicate. These are small shifts, but together they can lead to big changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her work with students, Mavadiya has a similar \u201csmall shifts lead to big changes\u201d approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have the philosophy that when you do things, you learn more,\u201d she said. \u201cThe more opportunities we give students to communicate with each other and feel a sense of community in the classroom, the more they feel like they belong. And that sense of belonging really carries through their program and their University experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Associate Professor Amir Alakaam, director of UTC\u2019s MPH program, said he nominated Mavadiya for the CAND award \u201cbecause of the excellent impact she has made on our MPH students in a short period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStudent feedback highlights her ability to translate complex nutrition concepts into clear, practice-based applications and to make challenging material approachable,\u201d Alakaam said.<\/p>\n

For Mavadiya, the award is both affirming and motivating.<\/p>\n

\u201cReceiving the Outstanding Dietetics Educator of the Year Award from the Chattanooga Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is especially meaningful to me because it reflects recognition from local nutrition and dietetics professionals who are directly engaged in education, practice and community health,\u201d Mavadiya said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really grateful. It feels nice to be recognized for the work you put in and for what you love to do. I came here as a new person, and now I feel so connected to the community, to the area and to my students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

UTC Health and Human Performance<\/a><\/p>\n

Master of Public Health<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Hemangi Mavadiya has been named Outstanding Dietetic Educator of the Year by the Chattanooga Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (CAND), a local professional organization affiliated with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The award recognizes excellence in teaching, mentorship and contributions to the preparation of future nutrition and dietetics professionals.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1493,"featured_media":74351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,70,15,56,3,7712,52,12806,83654,8244,781],"tags":[126625,122231,126626,126624,123827,123826,117257,126623,123828,72870,124776,123829],"class_list":{"0":"post-74347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-campus","9":"category-college-of-health-education-and-professional-studies","10":"category-community","11":"category-faculty-and-staff","12":"category-graduate-school","13":"category-health-and-human-performance","14":"category-health-and-wellness","15":"category-honors-and-awards","16":"category-news","17":"category-scholarship","18":"tag-academy-of-nutrition-and-dietetics","19":"tag-amir-alakaam","20":"tag-cand","21":"tag-chattanooga-academy-of-nutrition-and-dietetics","22":"tag-creating-the-mocs-experience","23":"tag-cultivating-a-culture-of-innovation","24":"tag-eric-hungenberg","25":"tag-hemangi-mavadiya","26":"tag-leveraging-our-special-place-as-chattanoogas-university","27":"tag-master-of-public-health","28":"tag-mocs-learn-mocs-do-mocs-lead","29":"tag-operating-with-excellence","30":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nWelcome to Chattanooga: New UTC assistant professor honored as outstanding dietetic educator | UTC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dr. Hemangi Mavadiya has been named Outstanding Dietetic Educator of the Year by the Chattanooga Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (CAND), a local professional organization affiliated with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 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