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Cornelius P. Rhoads
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Cornelius P. Rhoads
Cornelius Packard "Dusty" Rhoads (June 9, 1898 – August 13, 1959) was an American pathologist, oncologist, and hospital administrator who was involved in a racist scandal and subsequent whitewashing in the 1930s. Beginning in 1940, he served as director of Memorial Hospital for Cancer Research in New York, from 1945 was the first director of Sloan-Kettering Institute, and the first director of the combined Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center. For his contributions to cancer research, Rhoads was featured 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 makes claims (which he referred to later as jokes) he had 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 whitewashing campaign by US institutions and media. 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's giving any inappropriate medical treatment, and the scandal was forgotten.
In 2002, the controversy was revived. Alerted to the incident, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), which had established the Cornelius P. Rhoads Memorial Award in 1979, commissioned a new investigation. It was led by Jay Katz, emeritus professor at Yale Law School and a specialist in medical ethics. He concluded there was no evidence of unethical human experimentation, but the letter was so offensive that the prize should be renamed. AACR concurred and stripped the honor from Rhoads because of his racism.
Rhoads was born June 20, 1898, in Springfield, Massachusetts, as the son of an ophthalmologist, Dr. George H. Rhoads, and his wife. He received his early education in Springfield, later attending Bowdoin College in Maine, where he graduated in 1920. He entered Harvard Medical School, where he became class president, and in 1924, he received his M.D., cum laude. Rhoads became an intern at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, and contracted pulmonary tuberculosis. During his treatment and recovery, he developed a lifelong interest in disease research.
After recovering from TB, Rhoads published a paper on the tuberculin reaction with Fred W. Stewart, who became his longtime colleague. Rhoads taught as a pathologist at Harvard and conducted research on disease processes.
In 1929, Rhoads joined the staff of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, now Rockefeller University, where he worked for Simon Flexner. He was also staff pathologist at Rockefeller Hospital. His early research interests included hematology and poliomyelitis. He worked at Rockefeller until 1939.
While working for the Rockefeller Institute, in 1931 Rhoads was invited by hematologist William B. Castle to join his Rockefeller Anemia Commission, to conduct clinical research at Presbyterian Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was part of the Rockefeller Foundation's sanitary commission on the island through the International Health Division. Castle's research interest was pernicious iron deficiency anemia, specifically as caused by the parasitic hookworm, which was endemic on the island at rates of 80%, and tropical sprue. An effective treatment for the latter had just been developed, although the disease's causes remained obscure. As recently as 2010, these conditions continued to cause high mortality in Puerto Ricans, as reported in the scientific journal Revista de Hematologia. The cause of tropical sprue has still not been identified, but since the 1940s, it can be treated with folic acid and a 3 to 6-month course of antibiotics.
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Cornelius P. Rhoads
Cornelius Packard "Dusty" Rhoads (June 9, 1898 – August 13, 1959) was an American pathologist, oncologist, and hospital administrator who was involved in a racist scandal and subsequent whitewashing in the 1930s. Beginning in 1940, he served as director of Memorial Hospital for Cancer Research in New York, from 1945 was the first director of Sloan-Kettering Institute, and the first director of the combined Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center. For his contributions to cancer research, Rhoads was featured 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 makes claims (which he referred to later as jokes) he had 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 whitewashing campaign by US institutions and media. 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's giving any inappropriate medical treatment, and the scandal was forgotten.
In 2002, the controversy was revived. Alerted to the incident, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), which had established the Cornelius P. Rhoads Memorial Award in 1979, commissioned a new investigation. It was led by Jay Katz, emeritus professor at Yale Law School and a specialist in medical ethics. He concluded there was no evidence of unethical human experimentation, but the letter was so offensive that the prize should be renamed. AACR concurred and stripped the honor from Rhoads because of his racism.
Rhoads was born June 20, 1898, in Springfield, Massachusetts, as the son of an ophthalmologist, Dr. George H. Rhoads, and his wife. He received his early education in Springfield, later attending Bowdoin College in Maine, where he graduated in 1920. He entered Harvard Medical School, where he became class president, and in 1924, he received his M.D., cum laude. Rhoads became an intern at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, and contracted pulmonary tuberculosis. During his treatment and recovery, he developed a lifelong interest in disease research.
After recovering from TB, Rhoads published a paper on the tuberculin reaction with Fred W. Stewart, who became his longtime colleague. Rhoads taught as a pathologist at Harvard and conducted research on disease processes.
In 1929, Rhoads joined the staff of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, now Rockefeller University, where he worked for Simon Flexner. He was also staff pathologist at Rockefeller Hospital. His early research interests included hematology and poliomyelitis. He worked at Rockefeller until 1939.
While working for the Rockefeller Institute, in 1931 Rhoads was invited by hematologist William B. Castle to join his Rockefeller Anemia Commission, to conduct clinical research at Presbyterian Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was part of the Rockefeller Foundation's sanitary commission on the island through the International Health Division. Castle's research interest was pernicious iron deficiency anemia, specifically as caused by the parasitic hookworm, which was endemic on the island at rates of 80%, and tropical sprue. An effective treatment for the latter had just been developed, although the disease's causes remained obscure. As recently as 2010, these conditions continued to cause high mortality in Puerto Ricans, as reported in the scientific journal Revista de Hematologia. The cause of tropical sprue has still not been identified, but since the 1940s, it can be treated with folic acid and a 3 to 6-month course of antibiotics.