Axel, along with microbiologist Saul J. Silverstein and geneticist Michael H. Wigler, discovered a technique of cotransformation via transfection. This process, which allows foreign DNA to be inserted into a host cell to produce certain proteins, is fundamental to recombinant DNA research at pharamceutical and biotech companies. Order of authorship in the original publication: Wigler, ...Silverstein, Axel.