Profile photo Anne May

Anne May

Full Professor

Strategic program(s):

Biography

Anne May is Professor of Clinical Epidemiology of Cancer Survivorship and currently serves as Director of Research at the Julius Center at UMC Utrecht. In addition, she is Group Leader of the Lifestyle and Survivorship Care research group at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. 
 
She obtained a Master's degree in Human Movement Sciences (with distinction) from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2001 and an MSc in Epidemiology from the Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, in 2006.

From June 2001 to December 2002, Anne May worked as a Nutrition Scientist at Numico Research BV in Wageningen.

Since 2003, Anne May has been involved in research on lifestyle, body composition, nutrition, and cancer. Between 2003 and 2007, she conducted her PhD research at the Julius Center, University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht), investigating the effects of physical exercise and cognitive behavioural therapy in cancer patients. After completing her PhD, she continued her academic career at the Julius Center.

Her research focuses on optimal survivorship care for patients living with cancer with an emphasis on lifestyle interventions – from translational and clinical research to patient care. She is especially interested in effects of exercise in cancer patients, in the mediators of the effect and also in methodological aspects related to exercise-oncology research. For the latter she received a VENI grant from ZonMw (i.e., personal grant for outstanding researchers) entitled 'Novel research design and methodology for evaluating effects of physical exercise in patients with cancer’. She is the PI of several ongoing (inter)national multi-center exercise-oncology RCTs (PREFERABLE (H2020-funded), PREFERABLE-II (Horizon Europe funded), PACT, PERFECT, UMBRELLA-FIT and PAM). She is also part of the research team of several cancer patient cohorts: PLCRC (colorectal cancer), UMBRELLA (breast cancer) and UNICIT (patients receiving immunotherapy), and is responsible for patient-reported outcomes and assessment of muscle mass. Last, she is involved in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study and was the scientific coordinator of an EC-funded research project investigating the relationship between physical activity, nutrition, alcohol, smoking, eating out of home and obesity (EPIC-PANACEA).

Strategic program(s):

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Research groups

Julius Center Research Program Cancer

Research aim

Our mission is to drive impactful innovation for cancer prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and care through interdisciplinary research, fostering collaboration among researchers across disciplines within the Julius Center and beyond.

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Recent publications

Sedentary behaviour and cancer risk Georgios Markozannes, Ahmad Jayedi, Margarita Cariolou, Eirini Pagkalidou, Sayada Zartasha Kazmi, Katia Balducci, Sonia Kiss, Rita Vieira, Sofia Cividini, Dagfinn Aune, Darren C Greenwood, Amanda J Cross, Marc J Gunter, Shalini Jayasekar Zürn, Christian C Abnet, Vanessa L Z Gordon-Dseagu, Kristy Maskell, Christelle Clary, Helen Croker, Panagiota Mitrou, Elio Riboli, Monica Baskin, Rajiv Chowdhury, Mia Gaudet, Edward Giovannucci, Ellen Kampman, Sarah J Lewis, Anne M May, Yikyung Park, Tobias Pischon, Gianluca Severi, Lynette Hill, Matty P Weijenberg, John Krebs, Konstantinos K Tsilidis, Doris S M Chan
2026
Sugar sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages, fruit and vegetable juices and cancer risk Ahmad Jayedi, Georgios Markozannes, Sayada Zartasha Kazmi, Margarita Cariolou, Rita Vieira, Sonia Kiss, Katia Balducci, Eirini Pagkalidou, Sofia Cividini, Dagfinn Aune, Darren C Greenwood, Laure Dossus, Emma Fontvieille, Nahid Ahmadi, Yahya Mahamat-Saleh, Amanda J Cross, Marc J Gunter, Shalini Jayasekar Zürn, Christian C Abnet, Pietro Ferrari, Vanessa L Z Gordon-Dseagu, Kristy Maskell, Christelle Clary, Helen Croker, Panagiota Mitrou, Elio Riboli, Monica Baskin, Rajiv Chowdhury, Mia Gaudet, Edward Giovannucci, Ellen Kampman, Sarah J Lewis, Anne M May, Yikyung Park, Tobias Pischon, Gianluca Severi, Lynette Hill, Matty P Weijenberg, John Krebs, Konstantinos K Tsilidis, Doris S M Chan
2026
Effect of yoga on musculoskeletal complaints in women during endocrine treatment for breast cancer Stefanie G A Veenhuizen, Roxanne Gal, Holger Cramer, Rhodé M Bijlsma, Patricia Blickle, Job van der Palen, Quinty R C M Wagenaar, Esther van Leer, Inge Konings, Desirée H J G van den Bongard, Anne M May, Evelyn M Monninkhof
BMJ Open, 2026, vol. 16
Choice and impact of EQ-5D-5L value set in cost-utility analyses alongside multinational trials Aniek E M Schouten, Geert W J Frederix, Martijn M Stuiver, Felix Fischer, Anouk E Hiensch, Krister Cromm, Bernard Canaud, Giovanni F M Strippoli, Anne M May, Miriam P van der Meulen,
PLoS ONE, 2026, vol. 21
Image-based consensus molecular subtypes and colon cancer recurrence Evertine Wesselink, Dieuwertje E Kok, Maxime W Lafarge, Anne-Sophie van Lanen, Iris D Nagtegaal, Maxime Sulter, Miriam Koopman, Johannes H W de Wilt, Ellen Kampman, Viktor H Kölzer, Anne M May, Fränzel J B van Duijnhoven,
Cancer Epidemiology, 2026, vol. 103
Health-related quality of life and functional outcomes of colon cancer patients in the Netherlands A. J. Pennings, G. R. Vink, S. van Kuijk, M. Koopman, J. Melenhorst, G. L. Beets, A. M. May, S. O. Breukink
Colorectal Disease, 2026, vol. 28

Fellowships & Awards

  • Coordinator of the HORIZON EUROPE funded international PREFERABLE-II Project: Personalised Exercise-Oncology for improvement of supportive care: a super umbrella trial to demonstrate (cost)effectiveness of live-remote exercise in cancer survivors
  • Coordinator of the H2020 funded international PREFERABLE Project (Exercise for Fatigue Eradication in Advanced Breast cancer to improve quality of life) - https://www.h2020preferable.eu/      
  • ZonMw VENI grant “Novel research design and methodology for evaluating effects of physical exercise in patients with cancer” (2014)
  • Selected for the female leadership programme “Steyn Parve” (UMC Utrecht)

External positions

Lid RvC en RvT - toezichthouden - Alexander Monro Ziekenhuis

Lid Raad Medische Wetenschappen (RMW) - KNAW - advies geven - KNAW