Professor Hutchins received a B.A. from Hope College in 1980 (physics), an M.S. from the University of Wisconsin in 1982 (medical physics), and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 984 (medical physics). He became a faculty member in the Division of Nuclear Medicine at the University of Michigan in 1985. In 1992, he joined the faculty at Indiana University in the Department of Radiology.
In 1992, he was appointed as the director of the newly established positron emission tomography imaging facility at Indiana University. He was appointed as director of the Division of Imaging Science, Department of Radiology in 1996. In 1999, he was appointed as Vice Chairman for Research in the Department of Radiology and became the John W. Beeler Professor of Radiology.
Professor Hutchins is an expert in the field of medical imaging and its application for the study of physiological and biochemical processes. His research has included the development of medical imaging instrumentation for positron emission tomography, the development of mathematical models for quantification of in-vivo physiologic processes, and the application of these tools to study the cardiovascular system, the central nervous system, and cancer. He has authored or co-authored over 190 abstracts and publications.