In this tutorial, we will show how to incorporate nuclear quantum effects into an ab initio molecular dynamics calculation via the Feynman path-integral formulation of quantum statistical mechanics. Important algorithmic advances needed to accelerate the convergence of the calculations will be discussed as well as approximation dynamical path-integral schemes. Finally, an application of the ab initio molecular dynamics and ab initio path-integral approaches to the problem of the solvation and transport of topological charged defects in water will be discussed.