The University of Arizona

Sadhana Ravishankar

10 March 2011 - 12:36pm — VSMDev
Sadhana Ravishankar
 
PhD, University of Georgia
Asst. Professor
 
Dept. of Vet. Sci. and Microbiology
University of Arizona
1117 E. Lowell Street Rm 218
Tucson, AZ 85721-0090
Ph: 520-626-1499
Fax: 520-621-6366
 
Courses Taught
 
MIC 205A      General Microbiology (Summer Session)

MIC 430/530       Food Microbiology and Biotechnology (Spring Semester)

 
Research interests
 
Control of foodborne pathogenic bacteria including antibiotic resistant strains using various technologies and multiple hurdle approach: Natural antimicrobials and their applications in various foods, antimicrobial and anti-oxidative activities of plant compounds;  Bacterial attachment, biofilm formation and their control;  Stress tolerance responses of foodborne pathogenic bacteria, and mechanisms of stress response in bacteria.
 
Recent media coverage of Ravishankar laboratory research:
  1. "Improving Safety and Quality in Organic Leafy Greens" - featured in UANews
  2. "Grilled Meat + Oregano = Reduced Risk of Cancer, Foodborne Disease" - featured in UANews
  3. "UA Research: Oregano Oil May Counter Carcinogens" - featured in Arizona Daily Star
  4. "Edible Apple Film Wraps May Protect Meat and Poultry Products Against Foodborne Pathogens" - featured in Insitute of Food Technologists (IFT)
  5. "UA to make salads safer" -Tucson News Now http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/13515749/ua-to-make-salads-safer
  6. "Apple-based active films combat Campylobacter" -FoodProduction daily.com http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/Quality-Safety/Apple-based-active-films-combat-Campylobacter-research
  8. "The war on microbes"-UANews http://uanews.org/story/war-microbes
  9. "Copper Kills Harmful Bacteria, UA Researchers Find"- UANews
  10. “UA Food Safety Experts Team Up to Reduce Foodborne Illness”-UANews http://uanews.org/story/ua-food-safety-experts-team-reduce-foodborne-illness
Lab Members
 
Govindaraj Dev Kumar            Postdoctoral Research Associate
Libin Zhu                                 Lab Manager and Research Specialist
Xeeroy Rada                           Graduate Student
Elan Snitkin                             Undergraduate Student Researcher
Chester Ho                             Undergraduate Student Researcher
Ishan Shah                             Undergraduate Student Researcher
Cecilia Ramonet-Sanchez       Undergraduate Student Researcher
 
Selected Publications
 

Moore-Niebel, K., Gerber, C., Patel, J., Friedman, M., Jaroni, D. and Ravishankar, S. (2013). Antimicrobial activity of oregano oil against antibiotic-resistant Salmonella enterica on organic leafy greens at varying exposure times and storage temperatures. Food Microbiology. 34:123-129

Ravishankar, S., Jaroni, D., Zhu, L., Olsen, C., McHugh, T. and Friedman, M. (2012). Inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes on Ham and Bologna Using Pectin-Based Apple, Carrot, and Hibiscus Edible Films Containing Carvacrol and Cinnamaldehyde. Journal of Food Science. 77:M377-M382.

Rounds, L., Havens, C. M., Feinstein, Y., Friedman, M. and Ravishankar, S. (2012). Plant Extracts, Spices, and Essential Oils Inactivate Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Reduce Formation of Potentially Carcinogenic Heterocyclic Amines in Cooked Beef Patties. J. Agric. Food Chem. 60: 3792-3799.

Moore, K., Gerber, C. Patel, J., Friedman, M., and Ravishankar, S. (2012). Antimicrobial activity of lemongrass oil against Salmonella enterica on organic leafy greens. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 112:485-492.

Jaroni, D. and Ravishankar, S. (2012). Bactericidal effects of roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) against foodborne pathogens in vitro and on romaine lettuce and alfalfa sprouts. Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods. 4:33-40.

Zhu, L., Stewart, D., Reineke, K., Ravishankar, S., Palumbo, S., Cirigliano, M. and Tortorello, M. (2012). Comparison of swab transport media for recovery of Listeria monocytogenes from environmental samples. Journal of Food Protection. 75:580-584.

Zhu, L., Elguindy, J., Rensing, C. and Ravishankar, S. (2012). Antimicrobial activity of different copper alloy surfaces against copper resistant and sensitive Salmonella enterica.  Food Microiology. 30:303-310.

Moore, K., Patel, J., Jaroni, D., Friedman, M., and Ravishankar, S. (2011). Antimicrobial activity of apple, hibiscus, olive, and hydrogen peroxide formulations against Salmonella enterica on organic leafy greens. Journal of Food Protection. 74:1676-168

Mild, R., Joens, L. A., Friedman, M., Olsen, C. W., McHugh, T.H., Law, B., and Ravishankar, S. (2011). Antimicrobial edible apple films inactivate antibiotic resistant Campylobacter jejuni strains on poultry. Journal of Food Science. 76: M163-M168.
 
Patel, J., Sharma, M. and Ravishankar, S. (2011). Effect of curli expression and hydrophobicity of   Escherichia coli O157:H7 on attachment to fresh produce surfaces.  J. Appl. Microbiol. 110: 737-745.
 
 
 
Ravishankar. S., Zhu, L., Reyna-Granados, J., Law, B., Joens, L. and Friedman, M. (2010). Carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde inactivate antibiotic-resistant Salmonella enterica in buffer and on celery and  oysters. J. Food Prot. 73 (2): 234-240.
 
 
Ravishankar, S., Zhu, L., Olsen, C. W., McHugh, T. H. and Friedman, M. (2009). Edible Apple Film Wraps Containing Plant Antimicrobials Inactivate Foodborne Pathogens on Meat and Poultry Products. Journal of Food Science. 74 (8): M440- M445.
 
Friedman, M., Zhu, L., Feinstein, Y. and Ravishankar, S. (2009). Carvacrol facilitates heat-induced inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and inhibits formation of heterocyclic amines in grilled ground beef patties. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 57 (5): 1848-1853.
 
Ravishankar, S., Zhu, L., Law, B., Joens, L. and Friedman, M. (2008). Plant-derived compounds inactivate antibiotic resistant Campylobacter jejuni strains. Journal of Food Protection. 71 (6): 1145-1149.
 
Ravishankar, S., Zhang, H. and Kempkes, M. (2008). An Update on Emerging Food Processing Technologies in North America- Pulsed Electric Fields. Food Science and Technology International. 14 (5): 429-432.
 
Fonseca, J. and Ravishankar. S. (2007). Safer Salads. American Scientist. 95: 494-501.
 
Ravishankar, S. and Maks, N. (2007). (Invited book chapter) Basic Food Microbiology. In Advances in Thermal and Non-Thermal Food Preservation eds. G. Tewari and V. K.Juneja.  Blackwell Publishing.  Pages 3-31.
 
Pascall, M., Ravishankar, S., Ghiron, K. and Johannessen, N. (2006). The use of magnetic resonance for detection of bacterial contamination in packaged shelf-stable low acid foods. Journal of Food Protection. 69: 1668-1674.
 
Schlesser, J. E., Gerdes, R., Ravishankar, S., Madsen, K., Mowbray, J. and Teo, A. Y.-L. (2006). Survival of a five strain cocktail of Escherichia coli O157:H7 during the 60-day aging period of cheddar cheese made from unpasteurized milk. Journal of Food Protection. 69: 990-998