About Us
Caron O'Dwyer
Meet the team!
Hi! My name is Caron and for the best part of the last four years I have been lucky enough to be a dedicated student in the Food Innovation programme in Dublin Institute of Technology. My primary hunting ground is Cathal Brugha st, in the heart of Dublin city. If I were to describe myself in three words it would most certainly be indecisive, creative and friendly. Before embarking on my college career, I had a love for all my optional subjects, though my favourite were chemistry and biology. I chose Food Innovation because it is so flexible in industry and there are many career paths I can follow throughout my career. Food Innovation also allows my creativity to flow and supports an outlet to any wild ideas I may have in the near or distant future. As a way to ensure my horizons are broad, I have hopefully chosen my optional modules carefully enough that I gain enough knowledge in the more science-focused side, thanks to Bioprocessing, and Food Allergens for my food side. This also applies to my undertaking of a lab-based final year project and a food industry based work placement. Balance!
If you were to ask me today, tomorrow or in three month’s time where I’ll be working when I leave college, my answer is and always will be I have absolutely no idea. Any module I have undertaken in my time thus far I have fallen in love with. I hope to go wherever my passion brings me, which at this point in time can be narrowed down to quality assurance, but that could change tomorrow. Throughout the Summer I joined the team in The Happy Pear for my third year work placement. I worked with so many passionate, innovative and hardworking people. Through my experience in their production facility “Pearville” I gained a valuable insight into quality assurance systems, legislative affairs and new product development. Needless to say, I had an absolute whale of a time, but that seems to happen wherever I go.
One of many things I took from my work placement experience was their passion and awareness of the impact they were making on the environment. I understand that this is of the utmost importance when it comes to our future generations although I wouldn’t classify myself as an all-around tree hugger, their passion for sustainability opened my eyes. The Bioprocessing module I am currently undertaking allows for the creation of something from something else using another thing as an intermediate (disclaimer - this is not the scientific definition). As there is a ton of food waste currently in the EU, 88 tonnes to be exact, as a team we wanted to make use of that. From working in Pearville, I witnessed first-hand the abundance of food waste, even in a facility where they were entirely proactive yet aware of the impact it caused. Ultimately, this brings us to our Bioprocessing projects. After many discussions and deliberations, we have decided to make use of meat waste in order to extract bioactive peptides (super nutrients) in aid to combat the ever-rising issue of cardiovascular disease and its accompaniments.
Throughout this project my main roles have included researching and completeing work on the cell line, substrate, enzyme hydrolysis, hypertension, the chromatography stages of the downstream, Nutriplus memos, marketing and editing the website.
My name is Amy and I am in my 4th & final year of my degree in BSc Food Innovation in Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin. If I were to describe myself in as few words as possible I would say I am hardworking, creative, a good problem solver and a great team player. Before undertaking this course I was never certain as to what route I wanted to take in college. Having a keen interest for home economics, science and biology in secondary school I decided to embark on a degree in Food Innovation which incorporates all these elements. Since beginning this course my love for science has grown above and beyond what I ever imagined, so much so I wish to specialize in a laboratory based job following the completion of my degree as a laboratory analyst. My preferences lie within the microbiological, chemical and biotechnological sectors. I completed my three month work placement as a lab aide within the Biochemistry department in the central pathology laboratory in St. James’s Hospital, Dublin where I got an insight into the working world in a laboratory setting, gained valuable hands on experience, an abundance of new laboratory skills as well as enhancing existent skills (both personal & laboratory skills). From this placement now even more than ever I am certain this is the career I want to specialize in after getting a taste of the real working world in the lab and would love to go back to work in St. James’s, they were such a great team to be a part of. My goals and expectations for the near future are to obtain a first class honours degree in Food Innovation then pursue a part-time masters while working in industry.
This project ‘Bioactives’ was done as part of one of my fourth year optional modules, Bioprocessing, a growing area important for the production of medicinally and industrially important products. I took up this module to gain valuable knowledge in the bioprocessing as I am interested in trying to develop more natural forms of treatments for diseases using naturally occurring compounds from food sources e.g. plants or food waste in replacement of synthetic drugs. This way I feel bioprocessing can add more value to food, waste, financially benefit industries as well as benefit the health of many people worldwide. For this project we focused on developing the next generation of ACE inhibitors from food waste in replacement of the current synthetic drugs for treatment of hypertension, a widespread problem.
My main roles & responsibilities throughout this project have included researching & producing work about bioactive peptides antihypertensive properties, ACE inhibitors, the renin-angiotensin aldosterone system, all about the bioreactor, the preparation of the bioreactor & filters, the ultrafiltration membrane, assisting with memos, the preparation and testing of the membrane, the bioactive assays, the turning points, and designing & editing the e-portfolio, creation of the product name & logo and I also created & edited the video for our bioprocess.
I hope you benefit from our project and am excited to hear back reviews on our design of natural ACE inhibitors. To learn more about my journey and progression through this Bioprocessing module you can read my weekly blogs I have been documenting along the way by clicking the 'Follow my Journey' button below my picture.
