He obtained his B.S. degree in chemical engineering from UCLA in 1994, and M.S.E. (1996) and Ph.D. (2001) degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan. Following postdoctoral training in cell biology, Putnam joined the faculty at UC Irvine in January 2003. He was a recipient of the Fariborz Maseeh Best Faculty Teacher Award in 2005, the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award in 2007, and a New Faculty Award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine in 2008.