Susan Chikagwa-Malunga has worked at the Chitedze Agricultural Research Station in Malawi for more than 15 years. She has been responsible for planning, supervising and coordinating national livestock and pasture research projects. She managed the Farm Animal Genetic Resources Project and coordinated the Malawi-Malaysia Technical Corporation Program Livestock Projects. Intensive livestock production in the tropics makes heavy use of protein supplied from imported soybeans. However, the cost of the beans and their genetic modification has stimulated an interest in finding alternative sources of protein for ruminants such as beef cattle. Mucuna pruriens (velvet bean) is an attractive option for sustainable livestock feeds. However, it contains high levels of the chemical L-dopamine. This chemical causes monogastric animals (those with single chamber stomachs, such as pigs) to reduce their feed intake and lose body weight. Ruminants (cattle, goats, sheep) with four-chambered complex stomachs that consume the plant have been found to gain weight and increase milk production. Chikagwa-Malunga’s current research interest is determining why ruminants are less susceptible to the effects of L-dopamine.