Dr. Delany is a Professor of Developmental Genetics and Interim Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) at UC Davis. She holds the John and Joan Fiddyment Endowed Chair in Agriculture. Previously, she was chair of Animal Science (2005-2009) and Associate Dean of CAES (2009-2012).  Dr. Delany’s research focuses on avian telomere biology, with chicken being the primary study organism.

Her studies concentrate on the organization, inheritance, regulation and stability of telomere array organization in normal, immortalized and transformed cell systems, both in vitro and in vivo. Research and technology levels range from molecular and cellular to the organismal. Other interests and areas of research include gene mapping and chromosome organization, congenital and inherited developmental mutations, and conservation of poultry and avian genetic resources. Dr. Delany holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University (1987).