August H. Doermann
University of Washington
December 7, 1918 - July 22, 1991
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Scientific Discipline: Genetics Membership Type:
Emeritus
(elected 1975)
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August H. Doermann made many contributions to the field of phage genetics. His focus was on the genetic structure of T4 bacteriophages, double stranded DNA viruses enveloped by a capsid, which infect E. coli. He created a methodology for disrupting phage-infected bacteria to study intracellular virus multiplication. He also analyzed the ends of DNA within phages and showed that they are highly recombinogenic. These studies lead him to infer that phage multiplication occurs in a vegetative state as opposed to an infectious state, which revolutionized the understanding of a virus’s life cycle.
Doermann obtained his A.B. from Wabash College in 1940 and his M.A. from the University of Illinois in 1941. In 1946 he earned his PhD in biology from Stanford University and became a research associate at Vanderbilt University until 1947. He was a biologist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory from 1949 until 1953 when he became a professor at the University of Rochester. In 1964 he began his long career as a professor of genetics at the University of Washington.
