The heterogeneous nature of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) can make it difficult to understand the disorder’s pathology. Melissa Murray, PhD from the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL talks to us about her presentation at the 2017 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in London, UK, which emphasized the multiple ways which can be used to describe atypical AD pathology. Dr Murray also describes some of the different pathologies of AD, and speaks about a study involving a brain bank in Florida.