In collaboration with the American Philosophical Society, Profiles in Science has added the papers of Salvador E. Luria (1923-1992) to its archive.

The Italian-born Luria did pioneering work with Max Delbruck on bacterial viruses (bacteriophage), demonstrating that bacterial resistance to phage infection occurred through genetic mutation, and that bacteria were suitable subjects for genetics research. He worked with many early molecular biologists on problems of gene structure and function. Luria's work included discovering the phenomenon of bacterial restriction and modification of phage DNA by means of enzymes, and elucidating the mechanisms by which certain proteins operate within bacterial cell membranes. In 1969, Luria shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Max Delbruck and Alfred Hershey, for their "discoveries concerning the replication mechanism and the genetic structure of viruses." Later, Luria founded M.I.T.'s Center for Cancer Research and was its director from 1972 to 1985.