Tufts President Visits Medford High For Lecture

MEDFORD, MA - Tufts University President Dr. Anthony Monaco visited Medford High School and served as a guest lecturer for high school students in science classes in both the high school and vocational school.

Dr. Monaco lectured about his landmark discovery the gene responsible for X-lined Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies.

President Monaco became the thirteenth President of Tufts University on August 1, 2011. He holds faculty appointments as a professor of biology in the School of Arts and Sciences, as well as, a professor of neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine. A distinguished geneticist, Dr. Monaco’s doctoral research led to a landmark discovery: the gene responsible for X-lined Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies.

He explained to the students that he was the first in his family and his high school to attend an Ivy League College (Princeton University) on a scholarship. Originally, he thought he would major in biology. However, he took a class in Brain and Behavior offered by the Psychology Department and this class developed his passion. It would eventually lead him to the study of genetics which was not part of his major. President Monaco told the students, “You can change your paths at any time in your lives.” He said the largest major at Tufts University now is computer science, surpassing international relations. President Monaco encouraged the students to realize that computing, data, and statistics are important for all bench scientists to know.

After the lecture, President Monaco opened up the floor to questions. One student asked if the treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy was a one-time drug. President Monaco said that the drug would have to be taken for life. Another student asked if women, who are carriers of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene, experience any symptoms. The President responded that they do not.

President Monaco was then taken on a tour of the new science labs. He said he appreciated the capabilities provided in each of the new classrooms. Biotechnology students explained the Tilapia Fish Farm and Hydroponics Garden. The President also saw the Marbled Salamanders who have grown from larvae and will be released during the coming weeks in the Middlesex Fells behind Medford High School.

According to the Rocco Cieri, Science Coordinator for the Medford Public Schools, “this is the first time ever that a high school, working with conservation scientists and public land managers (DCR), has re-introduced an amphibian species to a New England forest." Nineteen Salamanders will be released within the Middlesex Fells and re-establish a self-sustaining population in the future. “There is some serious science taking place here at Medford High School,” said Monaco.