The Vanderbilt Eye Institute (VEI) has received a $10 million gift that will fund regenerative visual neuroscience research to develop transformative therapies for eye diseases.

Alice Ingram Hooker, a longtime supporter of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and former chair of their boards, died July 23 after an extended illness.

Supporters cut the ribbon last week to celebrate the newly expanded and renamed Pinson Hospital Hospitality House, which provides lodging for families and long-term patients at Nashville-area hospitals.

With a population explosion impacting Nashville and surrounding communities, serving the health care needs of the region’s families and children means that Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt has been on the rise — literally.

A $10 million endowed gift will fund translational research, support clinical programs and create an endowed chair within the Department of Psychiatry.

Patient ambassadors recently helped give the Carell family a sneak peek at the first new floor of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt expansion, scheduled to open at the end of June.

More than 300 members of the Canby Robinson Society, the Canby Robinson Legacy Circle and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center community joined Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, and his wife, Melinda, last week at Cheekwood Estate and Gardens for a reception celebrating the community of supporters who help VUMC redefine personalized care.