Dr. Darney is Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at San Francisco General Hospital, and Co-Director of the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health.  

He received his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley, his medical degree at UCSF, and a Master of Science degree at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.  He completed his residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital after spending four years at the Centers for Disease Control as an EIS Officer and Deputy Director of Family Planning Evaluation.  He has served on the medical faculties at Harvard University, Oregon Health and Science University, and UCSF.

Over the past 25 years, Dr. Darney has served as scientific advisor and field evaluator to the American Public Health Association, Engender Health, International Projects Assistance Service, Family Health International, Pathfinder International, the Centers for Disease Control, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.  

He has served as a family planning consultant globally, most recently conducting curriculum reform with all eight medical schools in Vietnam.  He is a reviewer for numerous prestigious medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, Lancet, as well as the New England Journal of Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology.  He is a leading researcher in family planning with more than 200 scientific publications and is the author of several books, including five editions of A Clinical Guide to Contraception which he co-authors with Dr. Leon Speroff.  

He was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2004. Dr. Darney is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Physicians for Reproductive Choice Kenneth J. Ryan Physician Leadership Award, UCSF Chancellor’s Award for the Advancement of Women and Public Service, the National Abortion Federation’s Christopher Tietze Humanitarian Award, and the American Public Health Association’s Ross Award for Distinguished Service in Maternal and Child Health, and Schulz Award for Major Contributions in Reproductive Health.  

He is the founder of the Family Planning Fellowship, the UCSF Women’s Options Center for training students, residents, and fellows in abortion and family planning, the New Generation Health Center, a specialty clinic for teens, and the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health.