 Later , she made an extensive study of the cytogenetics and ethnobotany of maize races from South America . McClintock 's research became well understood in the 1960s and 1970s , as other scientists confirmed the mechanisms of genetic change and genetic regulation that she had demonstrated in her maize research in the 1940s and 1950s . Awards and recognition for her contributions to the field followed , including the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine , awarded to her in 1983 for the discovery of genetic transposition ; she is the only woman to receive an unshared Nobel Prize in that category . 
