His research interests focus on plant-insect interactions, improvement of agricultural crops through plant genetics and plant defense responses. ACES research focuses on determining the biological role of triterpenes in normal Black cohosh development and identifying the signaling pathways that can be used to stimulate their production. Dr. Puthoff earned a B.S. degree from The Ohio State University in Molecular Genetics and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside in Botany (Plant Genetics).