Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia has announced a $5 million gift from philanthropists Vickie and Jack Farber to create a vision research center.

The gift will establish the Vickie and Jack Farber Vision Research Center at Wills Eye and support the development of research initiatives in data mining and analytics, tele-ophthalmology, and community-based research, as well as the creation of a new clinical trials unit. The gift builds on an earlier $2 million grant from the couple that enabled the hospital's center for ophthalmologic care to expand its vision-related research and recruit internationally recognized vision epidemiologist Leslie Hyman, who leads the research center.

"We are deeply grateful to Vickie and Jack Farber for their ongoing support and astute eye toward the future," said Wills Eye Hospital CEO Joseph P. Bilson. "A robust and vibrant centralized research program at Wills takes this great institution to a new level."