Conall Geoghegan Moore is a PhD student in Maynooth University’s Host-Pathogen Interaction lab, funded by the Irish Research Council. He studied for his BSc in Biomedical Sciences in Maynooth, before completing an MSc in Diagnostics and Precision Medicine at Dublin City University. Conall’s research aims to shed light on lingering uncertainties surrounding the role of the human DDX3X protein in disease. By identifying which different versions (‘Isoforms’) of this protein exist and characterising their functional differences and expression patterns, he hopes to provide novel insights into DDX3X’s seemingly oxymoronic functions in appearing to be capable of both protecting us from and promoting the progression of cancer and viral infections. As a Fulbrighter, Conall will learn to apply specialised computational tools for analysing RNA-sequencing data under Dr Susan Carpenter and colleagues at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), allowing him to answer one of his PhD project’s main research questions.