John O. L. Delancey MD

Dr. John O. L. DeLancey is Director of the Pelvic Floor Research Group at the University of Michigan and the Norman F. Miller Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Professor of Urology in the University of Michigan Medical School. He and his research team have made important discoveries concerning the basic causal mechanisms involved in the prevalent and distressing conditions known as female pelvic floor disorders. Working with biomechanical engineer James A. Ashton-Miller, Ph.D. they pioneered the use of rapidly evolving advanced soft tissue imaging techniques and biomechanical analysis to test specific structural hypotheses concerning normal pelvic floor function and dysfunction using high resolution pelvic magnetic resonance imaging scans, 3-D reconstructions of anatomy in living women, and advanced finite-element biomechanical models. Drs. DeLancey, Ashton-Miller, and their trainees have elucidated the structural mechanics of factors responsible for the connective tissue, muscle, and neural mechanisms involved in these highly prevalent, long neglected, and stigmatizing conditions. In addition, they have examined the remarkable biomechanics of vaginal birth injury that is the dominant cause of incontinence and prolapse. This research resulted in important discoveries about the fundamental biomechanics of pelvic floor disorders as well as the factors involved in birth-related pelvic floor injury that have won many national and international awards.