We are pleased to announce that the 2026 Raff Medal winner is…

Eva Simpson

Eva completed a BSc in Biomedical Science at the University of Salford with a placement year in molecular genetics within the NHS, followed by an MSc in Medical Biotechnology with Business Management at the University of Warwick. Here, she developed a strong interest in fertility research and the technical innovations required to advance it.

Eva joined the lab of Dr Daniel Booth at the Biodiscovery Institute, University of Nottingham for a PhD, where her research focused on developing and applying 3D correlative light and electron microscopy (3D-CLEM) to investigate chromosome ultrastructure during cell division. Her work initially examined mitotic chromosomes, in collaboration with Bill Earnshaw and Fernanda Cisneros-Soberanis at the University of Edinburgh, resulting in a publication in Journal of Cell Biology. This study provided quantitative insight into chromosome geometry across mitosis and identified a plateau in nucleosome compaction.

Eva then extended this approach to study meiotic chromosomes in mammalian oocytes, using both murine and human models, in collaboration with Suzanne Madgwick (Newcastle) and Andrew McAinsh (Warwick). This work  provides one of the most detailed ultrastructural analyses of oocyte chromosomes to date and is the first to confirm the presence of a chromosome periphery in both human and mouse meiosis. This research demonstrated that Ki67 is an essential organiser of the meiotic chromosome periphery, and that depletion of this structure is detrimental to chromosome progression and fidelity during meiosis.

Beyond research, Eva have been actively involved in outreach, mentoring, and researcher wellbeing initiatives, including serving as an Early Career Researcher Mental Health Lead and delivering public and school-based engagement activities.

Eva is currently continuing her research as a Research Fellow at the Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre, University of Nottingham.

The BSCB Raff Medal PhD award was established in 2020  to recognise a PhD student who have made an outstanding contribution cell biology in the UK or Ireland. The medal has been named after Professor Martin Raff who was the president of BSCB from 1992-1995.

To find out more about Eva’s research, you can watch an interview with Eva and her medal lecture on our YouTube channel