August Doermann was a distinguished geneticist and pioneer in the genetics studies of bacterial viruses. Colleagues credit him with designing ingenious methods to study the parasitic life cycle of viruses. His work set the stage for current biotechnology and laid important groundwork for the development of animal virology and its many medical applications.

Doermann received his doctorate at Stanford University (1946) and taught at the University of Rochester, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Washington, the latter at which he spent 20 years. He was an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Doermann retired in 1985 and passed away in 1991.