John O. L. DeLancey, MD is the Norman F. Miller Professor of Gynecology and Professor of Urology at the University of Michigan Medical School and Director of Pelvic Floor Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He graduated from Oberlin College with Honors in Biology and the University of Michigan Medical School where he also did his residency training.
Dr. DeLancey’s pioneering discoveries about the fundamental biomechanics of pelvic organ prolapse, birth-related pelvic floor injury, and the mechanisms of urinary incontinence led to his election to the National Academy of Medicine and induction as an Honorary Member ad eundem of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. He has received $24 million dollars in NIH funding, published over 290 original scientific publications and served as President of the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society, American Urogynecologic Society and Society of Gynecologic Surgeons.
Early in his clinical career, Dr. DeLancey was frustrated that the treatment of prolapse and incontinence had little if any scientific foundation. After meeting biomechanical engineer James A. Ashton-Miller, PhD, they began collaborating in the 1990’s to apply the principles of biomechanical analysis to understanding pelvic floor structure and function. They, along with Nurse Researcher Janis Miller, RN, PhD founded the broadly interdisciplinary Pelvic Floor Research Group at the University of Michigan whose members have won many national and international awards.
Dr. DeLancey has an active practice specializing in surgical and clinical treatment for complex and refractory problems of pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence. He and his group have published some of the highest surgical success rates in the literature based on applying biomechanical principles to operative strategy. He lives with his wife Barbara in his hometown of Ann Arbor.