Dr. Rob Moir was a brilliant scientist whose pioneering research led to a fundamental shift in the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease. He challenged the conventional wisdom that the buildup of amyloid in the brain was intrinsically pathological and aided the development of Alzheimer’s. While amyloid is understood to have a destructive role in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, Dr. Moir proposed that amyloid defended against toxicity by trapping harmful microbes. After a decade of rejection, Cure Alzheimer’s Fund provided a grant to Dr. Moir, and his research results were published in Science Translational Medicine in 2016. His work was recognized as one of the top five discoveries in neurology for 2016. “Rob always thought outside of the box—he didn’t even know there was a box!,” said Dr. Rudy Tanzi. “He was a great, personal friend who never let anything stand in his way. He enjoyed life and always had a smile on his face.”