mˈʌtʃ ʌv hɪz ˈɜːli ɹᵻsˈɜːtʃ wɪððə jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi wʌz ɪn bˌaɪoʊkˈɛmɪstɹi ænd vɪɹˈɑːlədʒi, ænd dˈʊɹɹɪŋ ðə nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti z, nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti z, ænd nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvənti z, hiː kəntɹˈɪbjuːɾᵻd tə ðə jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾiz ˌɪnfluːˈɛnʃəl "vˈaɪɹəs pɹˈɑːdʒɛkt", stˈʌdiɪŋ bæktˈɪɹiˌɑːfɪdʒᵻz ænd ðə lˌaɪsoʊdʒˈɛnɪk sˈaɪkəl.
Much of his early research with the university was in biochemistry and virology, and during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, he contributed to the university's influential "virus project", studying bacteriophages and the lysogenic cycle.