Can a tomato be safer to eat?
How a KEYS intern from Yuma joined University of Arizona researchers working to reduce foodborne illness.
Olivia Allen (left), a 2026 KEYS intern from Cibola High School in Yuma, and graduate mentor Nguyen Dang (right) worked together on food safety research in the laboratory of Sadhana Ravishankar in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Arizona.
Deanna Rodriguez, BIO5 Institute
Every year, salmonella and other foodborne bacteria make millions of people sick, and because many fruits and vegetables are eaten raw, harmful bacteria can make it all the way to a person's plate. Sadhana Ravishankar and her research team study whether natural, plant-based sanitizers can make fresh produce safer without relying on traditional chemicals.
This summer, 2026 KEYS intern Olivia Allen from Cibola High School in Yuma joined the research team of Ravishankar, professor of animal and comparative biomedical sciences in the College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences, to study new ways to make fresh tomatoes safer to eat.
Working alongside graduate student and mentor Nguyen Dang, Allen tested plant-based sanitizers on Roma and beefsteak tomatoes to see how well they reduced salmonella. Using a fogging system that requires less water than traditional methods, the research could help identify new ways to make fresh produce safer to eat.
Olivia Allen prepares media used to grow bacterial cultures for food safety research as graduate mentor Nguyen Dang supervises.
Deanna Rodriguez, BIO5 Institute
For Allen, who traveled from Yuma for the summer and lived in the University of Arizona dorms during KEYS, the project offered research experience and laboratory technology she couldn't access at her high school.
"When KEYS came to my school and presented the opportunity to come and work in a lab and use all this technology that I don't have at my school, I knew I wanted to do it," said Allen.
One of the biggest surprises in conducting research for Allen was discovering how much planning goes into an experiment. Before a single tomato was tested, the research team met to assign responsibilities, organize experiments and map out every step of the project.
Allen's curiosity quickly became one of the most rewarding parts of the summer for Dang.
"I don't want my mentees to be passive," said Dang. "I want them to keep asking questions."
Allen did exactly that, asking why certain methods were used and how each experiment worked.
For Ravishankar, a member of the BIO5 Institute, those experiences are what make mentoring young researchers worthwhile.
"Research is important," said Ravishankar. "The discoveries need to come to the marketplace so that the entire society can benefit from them."
By the end of the summer, Allen contributed to research evaluating plant-based sanitizers that could make fresh produce safer to eat. The experience also showed her what a career in research could look like.
From left: Olivia Allen, graduate mentor Nguyen Dang, and faculty mentor Sadhana Ravishankar pose with members of the Ravishankar Lab.
Deanna Rodriguez, BIO5 Institute