A background in bacteriology
Hershey completed his doctorate at Michigan State College in 1934 and taught and conducted bacteriological research at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis. He moved to the Carnegie genetics programme at Cold Spring Harbor in 1950.
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The Hershey–Chase experiment
In 1952 Hershey and Chase separately labelled phage DNA and protein with radioactive phosphorus and sulphur. Blending after infection helped separate bacteria from material attached outside. The results chiefly associated DNA with the material entering bacteria and supporting the production of progeny phage.
Viral genetics and the shared prize
Hershey also investigated phage mutation, recombination and biochemical changes during infection. He became director of the genetics research unit at Cold Spring Harbor in 1962. In 1969 he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Delbrück and Luria.