Funding worth £32m has been secured by Queen's University Belfast to establish what the institution described as a world-leading centre for experimental medicine.
Alongside specialised research into eye disease, the new centre will study diabetes and develop a global programme into understanding the genetics of chronic diseases.
David Willets, minister for Universities and Science, said: 'It is fantastic that our top businesses and top charities are queuing up to collaborate with our world-class universities.'
The centre, due to be opened in 2016, has been funded through grants and donations from the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, Atlantic Philanthropies, Wellcome Trust, Wolfson Foundation, Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust, Insight Trust for the Visually Impaired and the Queen's University of Belfast Foundation.