James C. Niederman M.D.

James C. Niederman, M.D.
James Corson Niederman, M.D., a retired professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Yale University School of Medicine, died March 2, 2024, at his home in Bethany, Connecticut. Born in Hamilton, Ohio on November 27, 1924, Dr. Niederman was a graduate of Kenyon College and received his medical degree in 1949 from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. At Johns Hopkins, he served as an Osler Intern and subsequently finished his residency on the house staff at the Grace (now Yale) New Haven Hospital.
Landing in New Haven proved to be fortunate for Jim. It was there that he met his wife, the former Miriam (Mimi) Camp. They were married on December 12, 1951. In 1955, Jim became a member of the Yale Medical School faculty. His work initially included studies on oral polio vaccine, but later focused on infectious mononucleosis. In 1968, together with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, he published the results of his research, which had demonstrated that infectious mononucleosis was caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. In total, he was author or co-author of more than 100 scientific publications.
Jim was a trustee of Kenyon College from 1974 to 1997, and a trustee emeritus until his death. He received an honorary degree from the college in 1981. Later, he was a trustee of the Kenyon Review literary magazine. He also served as a member of the Board of Counselors of Smith College and the National Council for Johns Hopkins Medicine. At Yale, he was a fellow at Silliman College.
An avid horticulturist, Jim was a member of the Garden Club of New Haven and served as president of the Edgerton Park Conservancy, beginning in 1997. In addition, he was chairman of the Friends of Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven. Closer to home, Jim was known for his arrays of daffodils each spring and for the year-round output of his personal greenhouse. On the morning of his death, he was discussing the watering schedule for his plants, still enjoying an engaged mind and a spatial sense that endured despite limited eyesight in his later years.
Jim and Mimi enjoyed over 72 years of true partnership before her death in January of this year. Together they turned their Bethany farmhouse into a unique home, where they raised their family and lived out their years. The two shared many interests, including a love of music; for years they were season ticket holders at the Metropolitan Opera. They are survived by: two sons, Timothy (Sue Sweitzer) of Bethany and Derrick (Peggy Malaspina) of Charleston, SC; two daughters, Eliza Miller (the late Russell Miller) of Cumberland, ME and Caroline of Portland, ME; four grandchildren, Marlowe Miller (Anthony Julian), and Charlotte (Andrew Levine), Louisa, and Nathanael Niedermann; and two great-granddaughters, Isabel Julian and Frances Levine.
The time and place of a joint memorial service will be announced at a later date. Contributions in remembrance of Jim can be made to the Edgerton Park Conservancy, the Garden Club of New Haven, or the Grove Street Cemetery.