Chicago City Wire

Scientists and doctors got started alongside one another recently in what is described as the first effort to bring the two together in a laboratory setting.

The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), opened in March as a so-called "translational" research hospital.

"The Shirley Ryan Abilitylab is the only hospital in the world where doctors focused on solving patient challenges now work side-by-side with scientists focused on finding cures," Jude Reyes, chairman of the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Board, said, according to a press release. "The result is focused discovery and innovation on behalf of patients, who will be poised to achieve their best possible recoveries here."

The 1.2-million-square-foot facility boasts five Innovation Centers – focusing on the brain, spinal cord, pediatrics, cancer rehabilitation and nerve, muscle and bone – as well as five labs dedicated to helping patients achieve higher function: the Think + Speak Lab, Legs + Walking Lab, Arms + Hands Lab, Strength + Endurance Lab and Pediatric Lab.

“With direct, ongoing exposure to a clinical environment, scientists will conduct research with greater intention, based on the needs of patients that they themselves observe,” Joanne Smith, president and CEO of Shirley Ryan Abilitylab, said in the press release.