What does Shannon ABC do?

Over the course of my first 6 months in Shannon ABC, the 'elevator pitch' for Shannon ABC has become more and more refined, however it is still challenging to put into a 30 second pitch all the capabilities of Shannon ABC. The core of the work that we do is based around screening natural sources for bio-active compounds. This screen is, by now, a well established process within Shannon ABC. However, given the capabilities that feed into this process (protein biochemistry, molecular biology, food science, microbiology, fungal biology, analytical chemistry, etc) and the techniques and technology used to facilitate this (fermentations, solvent extractions, super-critical fluid extraction, GC-MS, HPLC, LC-MS/MS, cell culture, bio-reactors, etc) we can take specific sections and package them up for clients for contract research, collaborations, protocol design, etc in a variety of other areas.
Part of the unique selling point of Shannon ABC is the big picture view that we have developed. For example, while we would work with the food industry on a regular basis, we also have collaborations with a variety of other sectors including Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, Biotechnology, Textiles, etc. The advantage here is that while we may identify a bio-active compound from the food sector, we have the knowledge, capabilities and contacts to potentially apply that bio-active to a range of other sectors, adding substantial value and cross-sector awareness for our clients.
Industry requests for alternative services and technologies will also further fuel the expansion of Shannon ABC, and we will continue to grow as a comercially focussed Reseach, Development and Innovation Centre.