Penn State Professor of Anthropology David Puts has been named the associate director for graduate education at the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. The post was most recently held by Troy Ott, professor of reproductive physiology, who served as interim director of Huck in 2024 before becoming dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences.
A co-funded faculty member with the Social Sciences Research Institute, Puts has authored or co-authored on more than 160 scientific papers and chapters that have garnered nearly 11,000 citations and in June was elected president of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society. His research focuses on understanding the endocrine and genetic mechanisms underlying the processes of sexual differentiation and the expression of sexually differentiated traits, and the reasons for the evolution of these traits.
“Our basic science research is motivated by a desire to understand some of the largest and most salient sources of human diversity and their roles in health and wellbeing,” Puts said.
In addition to his scientific credentials, Puts previously chaired the Anthropology Graduate Program in the College of Liberal Arts, which is ranked first in the nation for anthropology graduate programs by the National Research Council. Before that, he served for eight years on the department’s graduate studies committee. He’s mentored 16 graduate students and served on more than two dozen graduate committees at six institutions across four countries.
"I am delighted that David has agreed to serve in this role,” said Christina Grozinger, director of the Huck Institutes and Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology. “David has an internationally recognized interdisciplinary research program that bridges genomics, physiology, behavior and evolutionary biology, and he has a strong track record of bringing together scientists across the life sciences. David also has significant experience in graduate education, both in an administrative role and as a mentor to graduate students in his lab, many of whom have received competitive research grants and now lead research groups of their own.”
Puts comes into his new role familiar with the Huck Institutes. He’s a faculty member in two Huck graduate programs — neuroscience; and molecular, cellular and integrative biosciences — and currently mentors an MCIBS grad student; he’s also a member of two Huck research units: the Center for Brain, Behavior, and Cognition and the Center for Reproductive Biology and Health.
“I am inspired by the Huck’s mission to gather the brilliant minds and diverse expertise of Penn State faculty, staff and trainees around central questions in the life sciences,” he said, noting that he also admires Grozinger and is eager to work with her in support of her vision for life science research at Penn State. “I believe that this team-oriented mindset and approach is the best way to advance scientific understanding and discovery. At the same time, I care deeply about the quality of graduate education and developing the next generation of top life scientists, so I am excited by the prospect of bringing my own experiences in graduate education and my interdisciplinary research background to support graduate education with the amazing people at the Huck.”
With regards to his vision for the future of graduate education, Puts said he sees a strong foundation with room for growth and “cross-fertilization.”
“The Huck graduate programs are outstanding, so much of my role will involve supporting the programs’ faculty and staff and making sure that they have the resources they need to continue offering world-class graduate training,” he said, explaining that such training should prepare students for research both in academia and in industry or other non-academic careers, and to apply and advance leading-edge technology like artificial intelligence. “I would like to expand opportunities such as talks, workshops and other training resources that introduce students to research, theory, methods and approaches outside of their primary areas of study, which can broaden their understanding and help them see connections to develop novel research ideas.”
Puts graduated with a bachelor of arts in anthropology with a minor in mathematics from Kenyon College in 1995 before earning his master’s and doctorate, both in biological anthropology, from the University of Pittsburgh. He undertook postdoctoral training in the neuroscience program at Michigan State University before joining Penn State in 2007.