Cornelius P. Rhoads - Early Life and Education

Early Life and Education

Rhoads was born June 20, 1898, in Springfield, Massachusetts, the son of a physician. He received his early education in Springfield, later attending Bowdoin College in Maine, where he graduated in 1920. In 1924, he received his M.D. from Harvard University, cum laude. Rhoads became an intern at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, where he caught pulmonary tuberculosis. This sparked a lifelong interest in disease research. After recovering, Rhoads authored a paper on the tuberculin reaction with Fred W. Stewart. He taught as a pathologist at Harvard and did work on disease processes. Rhoads joined the staff of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, now Rockefeller University, where he worked for Simon Flexner. His early research interests included hematology and poliomyelitis. He remained at Rockefeller until 1939.