The new laboratories will be used by scientists in the University's Division of Ophthalmology and Immunology to carry out research to combat blindness resulting from corneal graft rejection, inflammatory eye disease and retinal degeneration.

Recent years have seen great developments in eye research at Bristol including the establishment of a genetic research section, the development of new drugs and therapies, and the Corneal Transplant Eye Bank's move into new premises in the Bristol Eye Hospital.

Andrew Dick, Professor of Ophthalmology at the University, said: "These new laboratories will enable us to continue our ground-breaking research into the fundamental processes that cause blindness. For example, we will be developing new therapies to combat inflammatory eye disease, a major cause of vision loss affecting around one in 1,000 people of working age.

"We will also be studying ways to combat corneal graft rejection. Our Eye Bank team provides corneal tissue for sight-saving operations across the country and is currently undertaking a UK-wide study into the factors behind tissue rejection, the major cause of corneal graft failure."

Friday's opening was made possible by support from the National Eye Research Centre, the Wolfson Foundation and Frost Trust.