KENNESAW, Ga. |
Dec 19, 2025
Hockey immersed Essix Moser in Kennesaw State University’s community. Neuroscience research showed him his future.
The December graduate will earn his bachelor’s in biology and has applied to doctoral programs in the hope of a better understanding of how neurological developments go wrong. He also made lifelong friends in the lab and on the rink as a member of professor Martin Hudson’s lab, along with KSU’s ice and roller hockey clubs, rounding out his education in a big way.
Essix Moser
Moser came to KSU in 2021 to focus on his education when his dream of playing competitive junior hockey hadn’t come to fruition. His parents had moved from California to Georgia by then, and he moved to live with them before applying to KSU. He spent his first year focused solely on academics before a chance meeting gave him roots.
“One day on the Campus Green, my roommate was talking to a couple of the guys on the hockey team, and he pointed them my way.” Moser said. “They came over and talked me into joining the team. Ever since, I’ve played with both the ice hockey and roller hockey teams, competing at regional and national levels.”
With a new community at KSU and excelling in the classroom, Moser leveled up his academics. He spent summer 2024 as an undergraduate research assistant in a biochemistry laboratory, which served as a gateway to other areas of discovery – notably neuroscience. On top of sports and academics he added research to an already packed schedule, but he found a worthy cause to explore.
Before arriving at KSU, Moser was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and often wondered how neurological development goes awry in a brain like his, then sought to learn more in Hudson’s neuroscience laboratory. He also competed for both the ice and roller hockey clubs, balancing games, practices and travel with his studies in biology. The teamwork in both the lab and on the rink, as well as the time management of club sports and rigorous course of study, have helped build his resilience, he said.
“Why do I have to focus on sitting still in lecture when everyone else is lasered in?” Moser said. “I had this very introspective experience of wondering what happened in my brain development to lead to these behavioral outcomes. That eventually led my desire to understand and pursue neuroscience.”
The Hudson lab uses microscopic worms called nematodes to study neurological development and how disruptions in this process can lead to neurological disorders. Through research with Hudson, Moser delved deeper into the topic and helped break ground with discoveries in transcription factor regulation in neurodevelopmental disorders. He said the long-term goal is to develop therapeutics that help people treat neurological disorders, and Hudson credited Moser’s efforts in getting science closer to that goal.
“Essix has been highly engaged in his work, which will contribute to one or more peer-reviewed publications, and helped to secure research grant from the National Institutes of Health,” Hudson said. “He clearly has the smarts to excel in graduate school, and he had to balance his time between sports, research and classwork, so I have no doubt he’ll succeed.”
Moser has presented at KSU’s Symposium of Student Scholars, regionally at the Society for Developmental Biology Southeast Meeting and internationally at Society for Neuroscience conference, all this year. He spent last summer continuing his research as a Birla Carbon Scholar. All of it will prepare him for graduate school, where he plans to earn a doctorate in neuroscience.
“Kennesaw State did not just give me an education, but also a community, a purpose, and the confidence to take the next step in my life,” he said. “For that, I am deeply grateful, and I carry that gratitude forward as I look ahead to the challenges and opportunities of graduate study in neuroscience.”
Story by Dave Shelles
Photo by Matt Yung
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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 51,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
