As a member of the Analytical Services & Testing (AST) Team in the QC Department on SK Biotek's Swords campus: perform non-routine testing for SK Biotek and off-site clients. This includes a range of products, but primarily deals in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) and intermediate products.The primary responsibility of this role is to perform initial qualification/re-qualification of API and intermediate standards. This includes, but is not limited to: Karl Fischer, ATR-FTIR, GC, particle size analysis, and HPLC. The results of these tests sets the standard for all equivalent product, so due diligence and high integrity are essential to the role.When not performing qualifications, AST supports the other teams, (API, Raw, ICP, etc.) in the QC Department. Primarily as peer reviewers and test authorizers of our colleagues work. I.e: reviewing test results, write-ups, and comparing to the Testing Standard.

After graduating with First Class Honors from UCC I was briefly a member of the Organics Department of Reagecon Diagnostics: the largest producer of physical and chemical standards worldwide. As a Process Technician, it was my responsibility to manufacture custom-ordered GC standards, which could include up to 64 individually weighed compounds, while also running qualitative GC-MS assessments of finished batches to ensure quality control.The GC-MS assessments were a 'blue-collar' way of checking that all compounds in any standard had a corresponding peak. When peaks were missing, I would have to troubleshoot to resolve the issue before the standard could move on to the CoA stage. I.e. adjust GC oven settings, change GC system, create dummy batches to ensure compounds were not oxidizing in the standard matrix, spiking samples to ensure that a peak should be present under the circumstances, e.t.c.When not busy with customer orders, I troubleshooted and worked with the other members of the Organics Team to improve productivity and workflow in the lab. This included the development of a Master List: a single library file neatly compiling CAS numbers, batch numbers, purities, and aterial numbers of all raw materials in stock.

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, I was a member of the R&D department in T.E. Laboratories (TelLab) in Co. Carlow. This placement was part of my MSc course for which I undertook a project under TelLab's H2OMon Project; which aims to develop a total nutrient analyzer for the monitoring of environmental and industrial wastewaters.The MSc project built upon the success of TelLab's Aquamonitrix system; an affordable, high precision, online, real-time nitrite and nitrate monitoring system for environmental waters. The objectives of the project were to optimize an indirect detection method for aqueous phosphate for use in an automated ion chromatography (IC) system.This was successfully accomplished, and an indirect detection method for phosphate analysis in wastewater was optimized and validated for an automated IC system. Future work for the method includes further adaptations of the system for wastewater analysis, and field tests for the modified system.In the end, not only did I graduate with First Class Honors (1.1), but I won the 2020 George Guillbault Award for best overall project: 'Development and Optimization of Phosphate Determination Methods Using Ion Chromatography with UV LED-Based Indirect Absorbance Detection for Use Within Portable Water Analysers.'

I was part of night staff in the TSE lab for Enfer Group. In this lab Bovine and Ovine samples are delivered from meat factories, abattoirs, and knackeries around the country which are tested for the BSE and TSE antigens respectfully.These tests are part of a screening program contracted to Enfer by the Department of Agriculture. Thus there is a constant paper record of every test done in the lab as any positive result must be traced back to the original sample, yard, farm, and animal. Accountability is key when the health and reputation of the National Herd is on the line.Duties include-processing deliveries of samples, including paperwork to keep track of sample origins-cutting, homogenizing, and plating samples from specific areas of delivered hind-brains-preparing reagents for the ELIZA, as well as performing the test itself-re-cutting and re-testing positive tests, sometimes including a heat-treatment of the original sample-correctly sorting and disposing waste, keeping a sterile environment preventing cross-contamination-sending off results to clients via text, email, and faxing

Before gaining a position at Enfer, I worked part-time in CoilÓg Eventing's offices. Every Tuesday, I'd be left in charge of the office while the manager would attend meetings. While Thursdays would find me in the café during showtimes.Duties in the office on Tuesdays included;-taking phone messages-organizing arena bookings for schooling-filing paperwork left for me-general cleaning of the office, cafe, and judges boxes at the arena-opening the gates at the far end of the center for pre-booked schoolingInside the café;-working behind the till, taking payments and orders from customers, then bringing said orders out once ready-making teas and coffees using the coffee machine-restocking mineral fridge, pastry trays, and the chocolate/sweets display-taking phone messages-cleaning dishes in the kitchen, occasionally helping with order preparation-general cleaning in the cafe, kitchen, and toiletsOn especially quiet days, I'd sometimes work the Entries Office in the café as well. Duties in the Entries included;-taking and recording payments and competitor lists-taking phone messages-bringing the competitor tickets to the judges boxes at the outside arenas-minor book-keeping duties when counting the days earningsWorking for CoiÓg requires everyone to be a 'Jack-of-All-Trades' so that anyone can cover for other employees when needed.

During the summer of 2016 I participated in a voluntary internship in the Behavioural Ecology and Biocontrol lab in Maynooth University. This internship was NOT part of my course. Duties in the lab included; -Setting up and performing bioassays, then passing the data on to the post-doc students in charge of the project -Performing stock takes of the chemical store, making sure that all the relevant safety data sheets were available -Occasional fieldwork in which insect traps were set up, maintained and resulting samples collected -Assisted in lab demonstrations for Leaving Cert. students during an open day in the collegeI also assisted in the day-to-day running of the lab. General tasks which included; -Proper sorting and disposal of waste, (biological waste had to be sterilized before being put into the general waste bin -Cleaning glassware and other equipment -Making sure that reagents for experiments, (e.g. agar plates) were available and stored properly -Bringing up supplies, (such as petri dishes, gloves, sterile spreaders) up from stores so they were available in the lab