Arthur Horwich is a pioneer in the field of molecular chaperones. These are a special class of proteins that assist other proteins in folding into their final form, which determines their function. Horwich discovered an accessory protein that is required for folding of proteins imported into mitochondria. He then led the way in understanding the cavity-based chaperonins GroEL/GroES. His discoveries have advanced the understanding of protein folding and have profound implications for diseases, such as Alzheimer's, that are thought to result from protein misfolding.

Arthur Horwich received A.B. and M.D. degrees from Brown University in 1973, trained in clinical pediatrics at Yale, and then pursued postdoctoral fellowship training first at the Salk Institute in the Tumor Virology Laboratory with Walter Eckhart and then at Yale in Medical Genetics with Leon Rosenberg. Dr. Horwich is a recipient of the 2001 Hans Neurath Award. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.