I hope this work will lead to significant breakthroughs in the treatment of eye disease and blindness

Science minister Lord Sainsbury

They will be funded through a new �30m package, raised by government, eye charities and business.

The eye research charity Fight for Sight has provided �8.8m for buildings, equipment and salaries.

GlaxoSmithKline will support a new chair in ocular immunology, which is to be taken up by Harvard professor Santa Ono.

Science Minister Lord Sainsbury said he hoped the scientists would deliver significant breakthroughs for people with eye diseases.

"I am proud that these top international scientists have chosen to work in the UK on this important area of research.

"The impact and cost of eye disease to our society and to the world as a whole is huge.

"Figures show that every day 120 people in the UK alone lose their sight through eye disease or injury.

"This has an enormous impact on their lives. I hope this work will lead to significant breakthroughs in the treatment of eye disease and blindness."

'Tremendous boost'

Professor Adam Sillito, director of the Institute of Ophthalmology, said: "These recruitments and developments provide a tremendous boost to our ability to meet the challenge of preventing and treating blinding eye diseases."

Simon Weil, chairman of Fight for Sight, called for more funding for research.

"More people are losing their sight as the population grows older, so it is vital that even more funds are put into research to prevent blindness."

Age-related macular degeneration is now the leading cause of severe sight loss in adults aged over 50 in the western world and affects 500,000 people in the UK.