$10 Million Gift to Advance AI Research in Eye Care at St. Joe’s

Wednesday, October 1 2025 | 15 h 04 min | News

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton has received a $10 million donation from retired chartered accountant and St. Catharines resident Thomas Kevill, marking one of Ontario’s largest philanthropic contributions in eye health.

The gift supports research led by Dr. Varun Chaudhary, Chief of Ophthalmology at St. Joe’s, focused on leveraging retinal imaging, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to combat age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR)—two leading causes of blindness in Canada, affecting more than 3.5 million people.

Dr. Chaudhary’s Advanced Vitreoretinal Imaging (AVI) Lab, part of the Regional Eye Institute, is developing AI tools to speed up diagnoses, identify biomarkers to predict disease progression, and personalize treatments. The donation will accelerate work in four areas: early detection, precision treatment, novel therapeutics, and global collaboration.

In recognition of the gift, St. Joe’s announced that the Regional Eye Institute at King Campus will now be known as the Thomas Kevill Regional Eye Institute.

“This remarkable gift reflects a shared vision for improved eye care across our region and worldwide,” said Sera Filice, President and CEO of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation.

Click HERE to read the full press release.

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