The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
It was founded in 1953, by Howard Hughes.
Hughes was an American film director, businessman, investor, pilot, engineer, and philanthropist. He was one of the most financially successful people in the world.
The Institute is one of the largest private funding organizations for biological and medical research in the United States. HHMI spends each year biomedical research of about $825 million.
The institute has an endowment of $22.6 billion, making it the second-wealthiest philanthropic organization in the United States and the second-best endowed medical research foundation in the world. HHMI sold the Hughes Aircraft Company.