STAHL, FRANKLIN W.

born Oct. 8, 1929, Boston, Mass., U.S. in full Franklin William Stahl American geneticist who (with Matthew Meselson) elucidated (1958) the mode of replication of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA; the gene substance), a double-stranded helix that dissociates to form two strands, each of which directs the construction of a new sister strand. Educated at Harvard (A.B., 1951) and the University of Rochester (Ph.D., 1956), Stahl pursued his research at the California Institute of Technology (195558) and the University of Missouri (195859). He joined the faculty of the Institute of Molecular Biology at the University of Oregon in 1959 and from 1985 was also a research professor at the American Cancer Society. Notable among Stahl's later work was his extensive research on the bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria, and its genetic recombination. The recipient of numerous honours, Stahl was awarded two Guggenhein fellowships (1975 and 1985).