obgyn Pelvic Floor Research Group
Pelvic Floor Research Group

The Pelvic Floor Research Group (PFRG) is an internationally recognized, interdisciplinary research group working to improve the understanding and treatment of pelvic floor disorders. Our goal is to identify risk factors for developing pelvic floor disorders, work with high-risk women to prevent them, and provide the most effective and newest treatments for pelvic floor dysfunction.

For More Information
view of all posters in hallway Innovation through Collaboration
$25M
NIH Funding
300+
Pelvic Floor Research Publications
1,200
Images in MRI Repository
30 Years of Research Excellence

PFRG has been an international leader in pelvic floor research for over three decades. Our award-winning research focuses on pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, birth injury, and fecal incontinence.

The Pelvic Floor Research Group publishes groundbreaking research discoveries in high-impact journals featuring collaborations with colleagues in biomechanical engineering, nursing, urology, and other gynecologic specialties.

Recent Publications

View a list of peer-reviewed publications from the Pelvic Floor Research Group.

Pelvic Floor Research Group photo at research day Pelvic Floor Research Day

Our Annual Pelvic Floor Research Day brings together interdisciplinary experts from across the University and beyond to discuss current and future pioneering research.

  • Learn about Pelvic Floor Research Group Day 2025
  • speaker at palmer commons on research day Urogynecology & Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship

    Learn more about the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology fellowship in Urogynecology & Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery.

  • Fellowship Information
  • Discover More About Our Research Group

    The PFRG team consists of an interdisciplinary set of investigators from the School of Medicine, Engineering, Nursing, Public Health, Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Institute for Social Research, and Institute for Gerontology.

    The Pelvic Floor Research Group is led by a team of researchers with diverse expertise, including gynecologists, urologists, colorectal surgeons, biomechanical engineers, nurse researchers, nurse midwives, social scientists, cell biologists, epidemiologists, anatomists, anthropologists, and statisticians who are dedicated to improving the prevention and treatment of women's pelvic floor disorders.

    Our strategy has been to use the multifaceted approaches from these many disciplines to see fresh approaches to long-standing problems, and to design hypothesis-driven research to answer questions of direct importance to improving prevention and treatment.

    Our group has led the transformation of Urogynecology from an empirical to a scientific approach.

    John O. DeLancey, MD
    Program Co-Director
    Leadership
    user labcoat Janis M Miller
    Professor of Nursing
    School of Nursing
    Research Professor
    Obstetrics and Gynecology
    user James A. Ashton-Miller, PhD
    Research Professor
    Julie Tumbarello Julie Tumbarello, MA
    Senior Research Manager - Dept. of OBGYN
    Administrative Director- Program in Research & Innovation on Maternal Outcomes
    Fiduciary Lead – Region 9 Perinatal Quality Collaborative
    Investigators
    profile-pamela-fairchild-2023 Pamela S Fairchild, MD
    Clinical Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
    Program Director, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship
    profile-dee-fenner-2023 Dee E Fenner, MD
    Bates Professor of Diseases of Women and Children
    Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
    Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
    Professor of Urology
    Lisa Kane K. Low Lisa Kane Low, PhD, CNM
    Associate Dean for Professional Graduate Studies
    Professor of Nursing, School of Nursing
    Professor of Women's and Gender Studies, College of Literature, Science and the Arts
    Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
    profile-daniel-morgan-2018 Daniel M Morgan, MD
    Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
    Clinical Professor of Urology
    profile-megan-schimpf-2023 Megan O Schimpf, MD, MHSA, FACOG
    Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
    Clinical Professor of Urology
    Medical Director
    UMMG and Ambulatory Care Clinical Chief
    user Luyun Chen, PhD
    Assistant Research Scientist in Biomedical Engineering
    headshot of  Payton Schmidt Payton C Schmidt, MD
    Assistant Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology
    Research Staff
    Sarah Block Sarah Block, BGS Sarah Richardson Sarah Richardson, BS