Tiger of the Week: Anthony Monaco '81

The list of Princeton alumni leading American universities added another name on Tuesday morning: Anthony Monaco ’81, a distinguished researcher who studied neuroscience and behavior as an independent concentrator at Princeton, was selected as the next president of Tufts University, beginning in the summer of 2011. After more than a decade in the United Kingdom, Monaco will return to Boston, where he received a joint M.D.-Ph.D from Harvard and began the work that led to the landmark discovery of the gene responsible for X-linked Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy.

 

Monaco, a first-generation college graduate, said in a Tufts news release that he wouldn’t have been able to attend Princeton “without incredible mentors and Princeton's generous financial aid.” He took full advantage of the opportunity, using his undergraduate studies to launch a career as a geneticist. Monaco’s research has been dedicated to exploring the genetic underpinnings of neurological diseases and disorders, most recently at the University of Oxford. He also has worked in several administrative posts, including his current position as Oxford’s pro-vice-chancellor for planning and resources.

 

Monaco received a strong endorsement from another scientist-turned-president, President Tilghman, who called him an “inspired choice” for Tufts. “As a world-class scientist and a highly successful university administrator at Oxford, he brings to his new position a deep understanding of what is required to build and sustain a great research university that is dedicated to educating the next generation,” Tilghman said.