KEYS Research Internship

Happy National Intern Day! 🌟

Here's another photo dump from KEYS 2026 to celebrate!

So many fun memories from this KEYS class, we had to share them all!💙

On July 17, we celebrated the 20th Annual KEYS Research Showcase! 🎉

After seven weeks of hands-on research, the 2026 KEYS interns presented their work during a poster session, received certificates recognizing their accomplishments and celebrated with more than 400 family members, mentors, alumni and supporters.

Thank you to U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva for visiting with students and delivering an inspiring keynote about supporting the next generation of scientists.

The celebration also featured remarks from KEYS alumni Salika Dunatunga, Joshua Dusek and Mariam Rana, who represented the program's early, middle and recent years and reflected on how KEYS helped shape their scientific journeys.

To the KEYS class of 2026, we are so proud of you and look forward to your future achievements! 💙

Link in comments to see more photos and read more about this milestone celebration.

Meet Shamel Waheed, a 2026 KEYS intern from Phoenix. 🌌

This summer, the BASIS Ahwatukee student joined the University of Arizona research team led by Pooja Siwach in the Department of Physics in the University of Arizona College of Science to help answer an important question: How can quantum computers help scientists study exploding stars?

Scientists still don't fully understand why some massive stars explode as supernovas. Working alongside postdoctoral researcher Michael Hite, Waheed built quantum algorithms and simulated how tiny particles called neutrinos interact during those explosions, contributing to research that could help scientists better understand the physics behind these cosmic events.

Link in comments to read more about Shamel's project.

Meet Pablo Fernandez, a 2026 KEYS intern from Tucson. 💻

This summer, the Salpointe Catholic High School student joined the University of Arizona research team led by Haiquan Li in the UA College of Engineering and University of Arizona College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences to help answer an important question: How can AI find patterns in complex data?

From financial markets to medical records, enormous amounts of data are generated every day. Working alongside Li, Fernandez analyzed computer code, trained transformer-based AI models and combined financial news with market indicators—contributing to research that could improve how artificial intelligence identifies patterns in complex datasets.

Link in comments to read more about Pablo's project.

Meet Kasyap Avancha, a 2026 KEYS intern from Phoenix. 🧬

This summer, the Arizona College Preparatory High School student joined the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix research team led by Katharina Schimmel to help answer an important question: Can our genes help predict disease?

Small changes in our genes can have a big impact on our health. Working alongside research scientist Tucker Hallmark, Avancha compared gene expression across the brain, lungs and liver to identify genetic variants linked to a rare genetic disorder called hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), contributing to research that could help scientists better understand why the disease affects some organs more than others.

Link in comments to read more about Kasyap's project.