Accelerate Ability Campaign

In Honor of Joanne C. Smith, MD, Accelerate Ability is our campaign to build on the successes Shirley Ryan AbilityLab has achieved since we opened the doors to our revolutionary research hospital in 2017. We have proven that our big bet was spot-on, having already advanced our Vision on several fronts, and across all disciplines. We knew seamless integration of medicine and science would produce breakthroughs — and it has.

Where Our Vision Will Take Us

Today, we are evolving our culture to new levels of collaboration and inquiry as we attract top talent. We accomplish this as we educate clinicians globally and elevate the field of rehabilitation through our leadership, increasing research capabilities and scope.

To improve patient treatment plans, we are in the early stages of incorporating promising experimental interventions. We use patient-specific data in real time to better inform each patient’s treatment. All while serving more patients than ever before.

Now, our Vision challenges us to do more. Our goal is to attract and retain leading scientists and clinicians doing work of critical importance to our patient populations. This will support our intention of shortening the time frame for scientific discovery.

Overview Schematic

Donor Impact Stories

John and Kathy Schreiber Give $15 Million to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab

The gift has been directed to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s Accelerate Ability fundraising campaign. Specifically, it will fund innovative care and game-changing research targeted to patients with diverse brain conditions.

New Robert R. McCormick Foundation Center for Hope and Equity to Be Led by Maya Yuen

Meet Maya Yuen, manager of the newly created Robert R. McCormick Foundation Center for Hope and Equity.

2022 Impact Report

On behalf of everyone at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, we thank you for your support. We invite you to take a look at our FY22 Impact Report below.

Accelerate Ability Campaign in Honor of Joanne C. Smith, MD

Physician • Champion • Leader • Visionary • Friend

Dr Joanne Smith

Opportunities to Support

We see meaningful opportunities to accelerate what’s already in progress, build on everything we’ve done, and continue discovering and innovating ways to make our patients better. To do so, we need access to resources that are aren’t available to us today. Following are just a few examples of how we will deploy funds raised by this campaign.

Cutting-Edge Research

By integrating medicine and science, we can fuel better, faster patient recoveries. Our work is not finished — in fact, we’re just getting started. We invite you to read a selection of case studies highlighting our cutting-edge research.