The Hektoen Institute is a comprehensive institute of medicine. Founded in 1943, it is one of the largest medical non-profit organizations in Chicago. Its primary function is to promote medical learning, education, ethics, and research in order to extend the boundaries of knowledge and improve the care of the sick. The Hektoen Institutes encourages the development of innovative systems of health care and promotes cooperation, affiliations, and projects between individuals and institutions.
Our principal activity is to manage health care and medical grants. In this capacity, we assist medical investigators to initiate research projects, help them write grants, and administer such grants once they have been awarded. We partner with organizations of limited resources or experience to develop programs responsive to community needs that will appeal to funding agencies. We maintain a portfolio of grant funded clinical research related to HIV/AIDS, diabetes, tuberculosis, asthma, hypertension, child health and child development. We also support basic research in cancer and kidney disease. In addition, we initiate educational programs such as symposia, lectures, and serve as an umbrella organization for the Society of Medical History & Humanities, Nurses & the Humanities, and the Gasul Club of Pediatric Cardiology. We also publish an online journal
dedicated to advancing the medical humanities.