Support Our Work

The Impact of Our Lab

Our lab studies how RNA regulation shapes tumor biology and neural vulnerability in a highly collaborative clinical and research environment, enabling rapid translation of discoveries to patient-relevant questions. The lab aims to impact the lives of patients such as those with vestibular schwannoma, and benefits from generous philanthropy to meet those aims.

A Message from Abel David, Principal Investigator:

One of the most difficult conversations I have with patients happens when someone comes into clinic with a tumor called a vestibular schwannoma. These tumors are benign, but they grow on the nerve that controls hearing and balance. Many patients are otherwise healthy people in the middle of their careers, raising families, living full lives, and they slowly realize they are losing their hearing.

What makes this especially frustrating is that even very small tumors can cause profound hearing loss. Removing the tumor with surgery or controlling it with radiation often doesn’t restore hearing, and sometimes those treatments can’t prevent it from worsening.

Patients often ask me a simple question: “Why is this happening to my hearing?” The truth is, we still don’t fully understand the biology behind it. My lab is focused on answering that question.

We are studying how these tumors alter RNA, the molecular instructions inside cells, to understand how they damage the auditory nerve. With new genomic technologies, we now have the opportunity to see these molecular changes in unprecedented detail. Once these biological signals that cause hearing loss are identified, we can begin to design therapies that interrupt them.

The vision is not just to remove tumors—but to preserve hearing and quality of life for the thousands of patients who face this diagnosis each year. Philanthropic support will allow us to build a platform needed to make these discoveries and accelerate the development of the first hearing-preserving treatments for vestibular schwannoma.

Show Your Support

Contribute to sustain the David Lab and invest in a future without hearing-loss due to vestibular schwannoma with the giving options available below.

Contact David McCreery for more information on supporting the David Lab.

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Development & Alumni Relations
420 E. Superior St.
Arthur J. Rubloff Building, 9th Floor
Chicago, IL 60611
david.mccreery@northwestern.edu
312-503-6099