Cornelius P. Rhoads
| Cornelius P. Rhoads | |
|---|---|
Image of Rhoads taken by the U.S. Army, 1943
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| Born | Cornelius Packard Rhoads June 20, 1898 Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | August 13, 1959 (aged 61) Stonington, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Fields | Oncology, pathology, hematology |
| Institutions |
Rockefeller University Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology |
| Alma mater |
Bowdoin College Harvard University |
| Notable awards |
Legion of Merit Walker Prize Clement Cleveland Medal Katherine Berkin Judd Award |
Cornelius Packard "Dusty" Rhoads (June 9, 1898 – August 13, 1959) was an American pathologist and oncologist, who was an administrator: he was director of Memorial Hospital for Cancer Research in New York beginning in 1940, the first director of Sloan-Kettering Institute beginning in 1945, and the first director of the combined Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center. For his contributions to cancer research, he appeared on the cover of the June 27, 1949 issue of Time magazine under the title "Cancer Fighter."
During his early years with the Rockefeller Institute in the 1930s, Rhoads specialized in anemia and leukemia, working for six months in Puerto Rico in 1932 as part of the Rockefeller Foundation International Health Board contingent. During World War II, he worked for the United States Army helping to develop chemical weapons and set up research centers. Research on mustard gas led to developments for its use in chemotherapy at Sloan Kettering.
In early 1932, a letter Rhoads had written in November 1931, which disparaged Puerto Ricans and claimed he had killed and intentionally injected cancer cells into his patients, was given by a lab assistant to Puerto Rican nationalist leader Pedro Albizu Campos. He publicized the letter in the Puerto Rican and American media, which led to a scandal, an official investigation, and a US whitewashing campaign to protect Rhoads and, by extension, Rockefeller interests. In the ensuing investigation, Rhoads defended himself, saying he had written his comments in anger and as a joke to a New York colleague. Neither Puerto Rico's Attorney General nor the medical community found evidence of his or the project giving any inappropriate medical treatment, and the scandal was forgotten.
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