The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), is a not-for-profit nationally ranked physical medicine and rehabilitation research hospital based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1954, the AbilityLab is designed for patient care, education, and research in physical medicine and rehabilitation. The AbilityLab specializes in rehabilitation for adults and children with the most severe, complex conditions ranging from traumatic brain and spinal cord injury to stroke, amputation and cancer-related impairment. Affiliated with Northwestern University, the hospital is located on Northwestern’s Chicago campus and partners with Northwestern Medicine on research and medical efforts.

Since 1991, the hospital has remained the top ranked rehabilitation hospital in America by U.S. News & World Report. Applied research focuses particularly in the areas of neuroscience, bionic medicine, musculoskeletal medicine and technology transfer.

Upon opening in March 2017, its $550 million, 1.2-million-square-foot facility became the first “translational” research hospital in which clinicians, scientists, innovators and technologists work together in the same space.