John O DeLancey, MD

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 $32 million dollars in NIH funding, published over 320 original scientific publications and been a keynote lecturer in over 34 countries on 6 continents. His clinical activities focused on surgery and management of complex pelvic floor disorders. He has been President of the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society, American Urogynecologic Society receiving its Jack Robertson Life-time Achievement Award and the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons having and received its Distinguished Surgeon Award.

In collaboration with biomechanical engineer James A. Ashton-Miller, PhD, they began to apply the principles of biomechanical analysis to understanding pelvic floor function and dysfunction and the remarkable structural changes that occur during vaginal birth in the 1990's. This work developed novel MR imaging techniques with detailed spatial analysis, novel measurement equipment, and advanced biomechanical modeling to discover the structural mechanics of the pelvic floor disorders and their relationship to birth injury. They, along with Janis Miller, RN, PhD who has done foundational work on pelvic muscle training for incontinence and the mechanisms of pelvic floor injury at vaginal birth, founded the Pelvic Floor Research Group at the University of Michigan whose broadly interdisciplinary members have won many national and international awards for research including awards from the International Continence Society, International Urogynecology Association, American Urogynecologic Society, Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine, and Urogenital Reconstruction and National Association for Continence.