A renowned scholar, Professor DeLisi is one of the most influential and prolific criminologists in the world with over 400 scholarly publications on an array of topics in the social, behavioral, and forensic sciences. Professor DeLisi has published 30 books with a variety of publishers including Cambridge University Press, John Wiley & Sons, Jones & Bartlett, Kendall/Hunt, McGraw-Hill, Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge, Sage, University of Texas Press, and others.

In 2012, Dr. DeLisi received the prestigious Fellow Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences for distinguished teaching and research achievement. In 2019, Dr. DeLisi received the prestigious Fellow Award from the Association for Psychological Science for sustained and outstanding distinguished contributions to psychological science. He is the only scientist in the world who is a Fellow of both organizations.

Although he publishes in multiple content areas, Professor DeLisi is most famous for his research on serious, chronic, violent, and pathological offenders. He has provided expert services and consultation on capital murder and multiple-homicide offender cases in multiple federal and state jurisdictions. In 2013, Professor DeLisi testified to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and consulted on criminal justice policy to a variety of federal stakeholders including the United States Attorney General, National Institute of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and others. Since 2014, Dr. DeLisi has served as a research specialist with United States Probation and Pretrial Services and engaged with scores of practitioners in the federal judiciary and correctional spheres. Prior to entering academia, Dr. DeLisi worked as a pretrial services officer for five years.