[4] In 2015 the American Society of Naturalists gave her the Sewall Wright Award for fundamental contributions to the unification of biology.

Otto's research focus is a multi-pronged approach of population-genetic mathematical models and statistical tools to understand how evolutionary processes generate diverse biological features.

[9] The core of her research revolves around analyzing mathematical models and exploring the insights they yield about how biological systems evolve.

The second major component of Dr. Otto's research involves the development of statistical tools such as likelihood-based approaches that allow them to infer how particular traits influence speciation and extinction.

"[11] Otto's recent work has investigated the genomic changes that underlie adaptation by yeast to harsh environmental conditions.