Evelyn Elizabeth Telfer is a reproductive biologist and professor at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. She leads a research team which has successfully grown immature human eggs to maturity in the lab, and discovered that human ovaries are capable of growing new eggs. In 2018, she was named one of Porter magazine's Incredible Women of 2018. In January 2019, she delivered the Anne McLaren Memorial Lecture at the Joint Fertility Societies Meeting in Birmingham: Fertility 2019. The Society of Reproduction and Fertility (SRF) presented her with their Distinguished Scientist award. Professor Telfer was presented with the Marshall Medal by SRF at Fertility 2023 in Belfast in recognition of her world leading contributions to the field of ovarian function and fertility preservation. The Marshall Medal is the Society’s premier award established in 1963 to commemorate the life and work of the eminent physiologist FHA Marshall. She was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) in 2025.

Early life

Evelyn originates from

Hurlford Hurlford is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland, situated on the outskirts of Kilmarnock, the largest and administrative centre of East Ayrshire and East Ayrshire Council. It has a population of 4,968. Hurlford's former names include Whirlfor ...

and was educated at

Saint Joseph's Academy, Kilmarnock Saint Josephs' Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Naomh Iòsaph'') is an 11–18 Roman Catholic secondary school in the New Farm Loch area of the town of Kilmarnock, situated in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In 2023, the school roll stood at 648 p ...

. She obtained a First class honours degree (BSc Hons) in Biology and Biometrics from Paisley College of Technology (now the University of the West of Scotland). At PCT, she was named the most distinguished student of the school of science in her graduating year. Following her first degree, she joined the University of Edinburgh to study for a PhD in ovarian development under the supervision of Professor Roger Gosden in the department of Physiology. She obtained her PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 1987. Her thesis investigated factors influencing the development of

ovarian follicle An ovarian follicle is a roughly spheroid cellular aggregation set found in the ovaries. It secretes hormones that influence stages of the menstrual cycle. In humans, women have approximately 200,000 to 300,000 follicles at the time of puberty, ea ...

s in mammals.

Career

Telfer is currently a reproductive biologist and Professor of Reproductive Biology at the University of Edinburgh. She is a former Associate Editor of

Molecular Human Reproduction ''Human Reproduction'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of human reproduction, including reproductive physiology and pathology, endocrinology, andrology, gonad function, gametogenesis, fertilization, embryo development, ...

journal. and a current Associate Editor for the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics. From 1987-1989, Telfer worked in the Department of

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

at the University of Edinburgh. Here, she worked with the physiologist

Roger Gosden Roger Gordon Gosden (born 23 September 1948) is a British-American physiologist in the field of female reproductive medicine. His scientific research focused on understanding the basic biology of development and senescence of ovaries in women, ...

to develop a culture system to support

murine The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families excep ...

follicle development, one of the first of its kind. From 1989-1992, Telfer was a postdoctoral fellow in John Eppig's Laboratory at the Jackson Labs in Bar Harbor Maine working on in vitro growth systems and oocyte secreted factors. She was the recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation award. She returned to the University of Edinburgh in 1992 as a lecturer and established a research group working on ovarian development. She led research which, in 2016, found evidence that the human ovary may have the capability to grow new eggs in adulthood. However, Telfer warned against premature clinical applications in

fertility treatments Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and cryopreservation of gamet ...

before the findings have been fully understood. Telfer has established collaborations with clinicians working on ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation for fertility preservation and was part of the team that reported the first pregnancy in the U.K. following ovarian transplantation. In 2018, she was named as one of Porter magazine's Incredible Women of 2018, recognised for her research growing

oocyte An oocyte (, oöcyte, or ovocyte) is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in reproduction. In other words, it is an immature ovum, or egg cell. An oocyte is produced in a female fetus in the ovary during female gametogenesis. The female ger ...

cells to maturity in the lab, to the point at which they can be fertilised. The research was the first successful attempt to grow fully mature human eggs, where previously it had only been achieved for mouse eggs. The technique has implications for fertility treatment, in particular in women undergoing

in vitro fertilisation In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an ovum, egg is combined with spermatozoon, sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating the Ovulation cycle, ovulatory process, then removing ...

and women who had their ovaries removed before cancer treatment. Telfer was the project leader, and co-authored an article publishing the research in the medical journal Molecular Human Reproduction in March 2018. Telfer was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2021 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2021 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to female reproductive biology.

References

External links

Evelyn Telfer - Edinburgh Research Explorer

Video of Evelyn Telfer on the implications of her research to grow human eggs in the lab
{{DEFAULTSORT:Telfer, Evelyn Academics of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British women biologists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Hurlford 21st-century Scottish women scientists 21st-century Scottish scientists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People educated at Saint Joseph's Academy, Kilmarnock