Profile photo Anne May

Anne May

Full Professor

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Biography

Anne May obtained her Master’s degree in Sciences of Human Movement (with distinction) at the Free University in Amsterdam in 2001. She obtained her Master of Science degree in Epidemiology at the Netherlands Institute of Health Sciences, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam in August 2006.
From June 2001 to December 2002 she worked as a (Sport-)Nutrition Scientist at Numico Research BV in Wageningen.
Anne May is involved in research regarding lifestyle, body composition, diet and cancer since 2003. From 2003-2007 she conducted her PhD research on the effects of physical exercise and cognitive-behavioural therapy in cancer patients at the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), Julius Center. After completing her PhD, she continued working at the Julius Center. She is currently Director of Research at the Julius Center and works as Professor of Clinical Epidemiology of Cancer Survivorship. Moreover, she works as group leader  "Lifestyle and survivorship care" at the Netherlands Cancer Institute.

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).

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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

Associations between low- and high-fat dairy intake and recurrence risk in people with stage I-III colorectal cancer differ by sex and primary tumour location Anne-Sophie van Lanen, Dieuwertje E Kok, Evertine Wesselink, Jeroen W G Derksen, Anne M May, Karel C Smit, Miriam Koopman, Johannes de Wilt, Ellen Kampman, Fränzel J B van Duijnhoven,
International Journal of Cancer, 2024, vol. 155, p.828-838
Corticosteroids for Immune-Related Adverse Events and Checkpoint Inhibitor Efficacy Rik J Verheijden, Jolien S de Groot, Babs O Fabriek, Miki N Hew, Anne M May, Karijn P M Suijkerbuijk
Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2024, vol. 42, p.3713-3724
Physical activity at diagnosis is associated with tumor downstaging after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with rectal cancer I H Mast, J H W de Wilt, B Duman, K C Smit, E C Gootjes, P A J Vissers, H Rütten, I D Nagtegaal, M T E Hopman, A M May, L M Buffart
Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, 2024, vol. 200
Post-diagnosis adiposity and colorectal cancer prognosis Nerea Becerra-Tomás, Georgios Markozannes, Margarita Cariolou, Katia Balducci, Rita Vieira, Sonia Kiss, Dagfinn Aune, Darren C Greenwood, Laure Dossus, Ellen Copson, Andrew G Renehan, Martijn Bours, Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, Melissa M Hudson, Anne M May, Folakemi T Odedina, Roderick Skinner, Karen Steindorf, Anne Tjønneland, Galina Velikova, Monica L Baskin, Rajiv Chowdhury, Lynette Hill, Sarah J Lewis, Jaap Seidell, Matty P Weijenberg, John Krebs, Amanda J Cross, Konstantinos K Tsilidis, Doris S M Chan
International Journal of Cancer, 2024, vol. 155, p.400-425
Harnessing the Potential of Real-World Evidence in the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer Sietske C M W van Nassau, Guus M Bol, Frederieke H van der Baan, Jeanine M L Roodhart, Geraldine R Vink, Cornelis J A Punt, Anne M May, Miriam Koopman, Jeroen W G Derksen
Current treatment options in oncology, 2024, vol. 25, p.405-426
Post-diagnosis adiposity, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, dietary factors, supplement use and colorectal cancer prognosis Konstantinos K Tsilidis, Georgios Markozannes, Nerea Becerra-Tomás, Margarita Cariolou, Katia Balducci, Rita Vieira, Sonia Kiss, Dagfinn Aune, Darren C Greenwood, Laure Dossus, Esther M González-Gil, Marc J Gunter, Kate Allen, Nigel T Brockton, Helen Croker, Vanessa L Gordon-Dseagu, Panagiota Mitrou, Nicole Musuwo, Martin J Wiseman, Ellen Copson, Andrew G Renehan, Martijn Bours, Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, Melissa M Hudson, Anne M May, Folakemi T Odedina, Roderick Skinner, Karen Steindorf, Anne Tjønneland, Galina Velikova, Monica L Baskin, Rajiv Chowdhury, Lynette Hill, Sarah J Lewis, Jaap Seidell, Matty P Weijenberg, John Krebs, Amanda J Cross, Doris S M Chan
International Journal of Cancer, 2024, vol. 155, p.471-485

External positions

Lid RvC en RvT - toezichthouden - Alexander Monro Ziekenhuis

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