After completing her doctorate in 1943, Deane taught zoology for a term at
McGill University in Montreal. She then joined
Harvard Medical School's Department of Anatomy. She was an instructor from 1944 until 1948 and an associate in anatomy from 1948 to 1951. She became assistant professor in 1951.
Accusations of Communism In the 1950s, Deane was a victim of the
McCarthyist attacks on professors in higher education who were alleged to be Communists. On March 27, 1953, Deane was subpoenaed to testify before a U.S. Senate subcommittee chaired by Indiana Senator
William E. Jenner to address "subversive influence in the educational process". She was questioned about her involvement with the Communist Party by Jenner and
Robert J. Morris. She refused to answer most of the questions, invoking the
Fifth Amendment.
Later career Following her appearances before the Jenner Committee, Deane was denied tenure by Harvard and her position was terminated. She had difficulty finding employment. Deane later returned to Harvard where she worked at the Biological Laboratories on visual mechanisms with
Alexander Forbes. She was hired by the
Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1957 and earned the position of full professor. As a distinguished histochemist and histophysiologist, Deane published 147 journal articles, was the editor of
The Adrenocortical Hormones, and co-founded
The Histochemical Society. ==Death==