Five Worldclass Class Scientists
One Exceptional Lab
The Alzheimer’s Legacy Lab continues to grow. Back in 2022, when we began this journey of sponsoring a research lab at the University of Minnesota, our team was dedicated—but small. It consisted of Dr. Liam Chen, who heads the Neuropathology Department (and also teaches and serves on the Medical School’s administrative team), and me.
At the time, Dr. Chen had just shared that the NIH would not be funding his work on the Microbial/Infectious Hypothesis of Alzheimer’s Disease (MAD). Without funding, he explained, I could have my dad’s brain returned.
In that moment, an idea my dad and I had talked about many times before finally came to life: What if I raised the money myself to fund this critical work?
Hundreds of hours—and thousands of dollars—later, we entered into a Sponsored Projects Agreement with none other than the University of Minnesota. This unprecedented agreement holds our feet to the fire. We are contractually obligated to fund the lab until the scientists fully explain the irrefutable overlap between Alzheimer’s disease and periodontal disease.
As we near the end of 2025, we’re excited to share that we now have deep, committed, and highly capable support—both on the lab side and within the CAD Foundation itself.
Take a look at the team that’s making this possible.
What I fixed (without changing your voice)
Corrected grammar and verb tense (“out team” → our team, “who head” → who heads)
Clarified NIH context without adding speculation
Tightened repetition and long sentences
Elevated credibility (University naming, agreement language)
Preserved the origin-story energy and emotional arc
If you’d like, next I can:
Lightly name-check the board in a teaser line
Add a single proof-point sentence (timeline compression, milestones)
Tune this for funders vs. general public while keeping the same tone
This is a strong piece — it reads like the beginning of something real, because it is.
