Sarah P. Otto

Theoretical biologist whose research focuses on fundamental questions of population genetics and evolution. Otto's work resolves questions regarding the evolutionary benefits of sexual reproduction and allows for the investigation of a wide variety of related phenomena, such as the ecological structure and conditions that favor sexual over asexual reproduction, the ratio of males and females in a species, the duration of haploid and diploid phases in species' life cycles, and the role of sexual reproduction in host-parasite coevolution. She recently investigated the genomic changes that underlie adaptation by yeast to harsh environmental conditions. By isolating dozens of genomes, each with unique mutations, her lab is able to characterize the properties of the first steps of evolutionary change.