He holds appointments at the Beckman Institute, Institute for Genomic Biology, Division of Nutritional Sciences, and Program for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology. He received his PhD in Zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2002. His research focuses on how lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise and drugs of abuse affect the brain and behavior. He recently initiated a new line of research on the neuroendocrinology of socially influenced sex change in clownfish. Professor Rhodes' research has been featured in a long list of print and electronic media including the New York Times, Scientific American, Parade Magazine, Discovery Fit and Health, SmartPlanet, Nature News, and Science Magazine