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UBC professor Sarah Otto is the only Canadian among 22 recipients of this year's prestigious – and lucrative – MacArthur Foundation "genius grants."

Ms. Otto, an evolutionary geneticist, is being honoured for bringing fresh perspectives to the issues of population genetics and evolution.

For her work exploring why some species reproduce sexually and others asexually, and why some species carry more than one copy of each gene, Otto receives a half-million dollar, five-year fellowship from the Chicago-based foundation.

The diverse list of winners includes an architect of eco-friendly skyscrapers in Chicago and a children's choir founder from New York City.

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