Richard Louis Lieber PhD, MBA

Richard L. Lieber, Ph.D., oversees all research endeavors throughout the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab system of care. He joined the organization (then the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago or RIC) in March 2014, bringing an extensive research focus on the science and physiology of skeletal muscle. Dr. Lieber is an established expert in the field, both nationally and internationally, and is a pioneer in conducting translational research.

Dr. Lieber, along with Chief Medical Officer James Sliwa, DO, is jointly responsible for implementing the novel translational approach embedded in the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab medical and research enterprise, and for demonstrating its tangible and cultural progress.

Prior to joining Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Dr. Lieber was Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and principal investigator of the San Diego Skeletal Muscle Research Center — an NIH-funded center designed to leverage muscle expertise on behalf of patients in the San Diego community. He earned his doctorate in Biophysics, with a minor in Electrical Engineering, from the University of California, Davis, where he also earned a BS in Physiology. He earned his MBA from the Rady School of Management at UCSD.