Genco previously served as provost and senior vice president at Tufts University and was responsible for setting and guiding institutional priorities that advanced the university’s mission. Genco oversaw Tufts’ 10 schools as well as multiple cross-school programs, centers and institutes, and worked to champion student success and integrate educational and research activities across the university.

Prior to serving as Tuft's chief academic officer, Genco was the Vice Provost for Research (VPR) and chair of the Immunology Department at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM). In her role as VPR, she worked with faculty and university leadership to develop and implement strategic research priorities at Tufts, an AAU and Research 1 institution. She also facilitated strategies to increase extramural research funding and enhanced the university research structures and programs, in part by fostering numerous collaborations across disciplines including immunology, infectious diseases, epidemiology, biomedical engineering and public health.

Genco has an established national record as an academic and research leader. A graduate of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program, she held the Arthur E. Spiller M.D. Endowed Professorship in Genetics at TUSM and has a distinguished history of excellence in biomedical research. 

She has authored more than 140 scientific articles, and her research program has been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She has served on numerous NIH scientific advisory committees and has worked closely with several pharmaceutical companies in an advisory capacity. Genco held faculty appointments at Emory University, Morehouse School of Medicine and Boston University School of Medicine. She received her undergraduate degree in biology from SUNY Fredonia in 1981 and earned her MS and PhD in microbiology from the University of Rochester’s School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1984 and 1987, respectively.