An $11.5 million gift announced Friday afternoon from former Duke patients Ruth and Herman Albert may help fulfill the Eye Center's vision for future research.
Most of the gift--$8 million--will fund the Ruth and Herman Albert Eye Research Institute, which will be housed in a new five-story building adjacent to Duke Hospital, beside the Eye Center on Erwin Road.
The rest of the gift will support the Herman and Ruth Albert Lung Cancer Genomics Fund, which seeks to improve lung cancer survival rates.
"We have seen the ravages of cancer firsthand, and we've experienced the fear of being unable to see," Herman Albert said. "Duke has helped our family through difficult times with care that was not only state-of-the-art, but truly warm and compassionate."
Dr. David Epstein, chair of the ophthalmology department and director of the Eye Center, said lack of space has hindered research.
"During my 10 years as chair... the department has grown and risen in national prestige, but the limitation of research space has prevented us from fully developing our research program," Epstein wrote in an e-mail.
He said the new center will house an expanded pediatric eye service and more space for teaching and research. Groundbreaking for the new building is expected to be in October, and the facility is scheduled to be completed in 2004.
Epstein said the center's goal is to find cures for common eye diseases that cause blindness such as glaucoma and macular degeneration. Its future focus is to apply research in genomics to finding those cures and translating research into new therapies in conjunction with molecular and cell biology, genetics, pharmacology, biomedical engineering and other fields.
The Alberts serve on the Eye Center's advisory board, and Herman Albert serves on the Medical Center's board of visitors and the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center's advisory board.
The couple gave $1.5 million to the Thoracic Oncology Program at the Duke Cancer Center last October, and in 1997, they established the Ruth Albert Endowment for Eye Research at Duke.
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