Mission:
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a nonprofit medical research organization that employs hundreds of leading biomedical scientists working at the forefront of their fields. In addition, through its grants program and other activities, HHMI is helping to enhance science education at all levels and maintain the vigor of biomedical science worldwide.

Background:
Entrepreneur Howard Hughes created HHMI in 1953 after building TWA into a premier international airline and Hughes Aircraft Company into one of the country's largest and most important defense contractors. During its first three decades, HHMI conducted scientific investigations in the areas of cell biology, genetics, immunology, and neuroscience. It also developed a unique way to work with its researchers: They are employed by HHMI but conduct work at host institutions. The organization entered a period of rapid expansion in the late 1980s and established a grants program in 1987 that has become the largest private effort to improve science education in the United States.

Outstanding Feature:
The online catalog on the HHMI site features a wide range of publications and other materials for researchers, scientists, teachers, and the general public. Web users can download publications in PDF format or order hard copies directly from HHMI. Other resources include a series of videos on laboratory safety and several multimedia educational products. Application materials for HHMI's grants and fellowships are also available on the catalog site.