Prior to CCAD, we did not know of each other’s work. At the time, Rodney was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He has an extensive background in sophisticated experimental techniques for disease modeling and therapeutic development, specializing in brain aging and neuroimmunology. Meanwhile, Vicky had recently started a position in the Computer Science department at Rice University in Houston, with expertise in computational method development for neuroscience. The two of us had completely different backgrounds, but of course both shared an interest in AD.