[1][2][3] He earned an undergraduate degree as an independent concentrator in neuroscience and behavior at Princeton University in 1981 and played goalie on their men's water polo team.

His doctoral research, supervised by Louis M. Kunkel, led to his landmark discovery of the gene responsible for X-linked Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy.

He subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in London, where he worked on the human genome project at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer Research UK), and subsequently a faculty position at the Institute of Molecular Medicine of the University of Oxford.

Nobel Prize-winning biologist Paul Nurse once stated "Tony Monaco was among the first to recognize the importance of what was still an emerging research frontier, human genetics, and its vast potential to address problems such as cancer and autism.

"[5] Monaco held a series of administrative positions at Oxford, the last being Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Planning and Resources), prior to being appointed President of Tufts University.