
Folasade Popoola May MD PhD MPhil
Associate Professor of Medicine
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650 Charles E Young DriveUCLA Center for Health Sciences, Suite A2-125Los Angeles, CA 90048
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Summary
- Folasade (Fola) May, MD PhD, MPhil
Dr. May is an AssociateProfessor of Medicine in the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and a staff physician in Gastroenterology in the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. She leads a health services research team at UCLA that focuses on cancer prevention and control research. In addition, she is currently the Director of Quality Improvement in Gastroenterology at UCLA Health. Dr. May completed her undergraduate degree at Yale University and then attended the University of Cambridge (UK) to obtain a Masters in Epidemiology. She completed medical school at Harvard Medical School and trained in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital before joining UCLA Health in 2011. At UCLA, she joined the UCLA Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) Program, where she completed her gastroenterology fellowship and a PhD in Health Policy and Management from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Currently, she is involved in research and public health efforts to improve cancer awareness and screening in the U.S population at large, and especially in underserved populations where screening rates are lowest. These efforts include work at UCLA Health, in Federally Qualified Health Centers, and in the VA. Her team also focuses on developing interventions to improve diagnostic follow-up for patients with abnormal colorectal cancer screening results. She is passionate about improving colorectal cancer awareness and colorectal cancer screening and is involved in several organizations that aim to help eliminate the disease. Her research is funded by NIH, NCI, VA HSR&D, and Stand Up to Cancer. Media appearances include 20/20, Good Morning America, CNN, Inside Edition, and Red Table Talk.
Education & Training
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical CenterFellowship, Gastroenterology, 2011 - 2014
Mass General Brigham/Massachusetts General HospitalResidency, Internal Medicine, 2007 - 2010
Harvard Medical SchoolClass of 2007
University of CambridgeMasters, Epidemiology, 2002 - 2003
Certifications & Licensure
CA State Medical License 2010 - 2028
MA State Medical License 2010 - 2012
American Board of Internal Medicine Internal Medicine
American Board of Internal Medicine Gastroenterology
Clinical Trials
- Improving Colonoscopy Surveillance for Patients With High Risk Colon Polyps Start of enrollment: 2023 Nov 08
Roles: Principal Investigator, Contact
Publications & Presentations
PubMed
- Quality measures in the design, conduct, and reporting of endoscopic research.B Joseph Elmunzer, Mohamad Madhoun, Gregory A Cote, Linda C Cummings, Neal Shahidi
Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. 2026-10-01 - Colorectal Cancer Outcomes Among Disaggregated Asian Subgroups: a 2006-2020 SEER Analysis.Matthew Y Zhao, Jayraan Badiee, Christina P Wang, Folasade P May
Digestive Diseases and Sciences. 2026-10-01 - Mental Health Diseases Are Associated With Active Hepatitis C and Partly Drive Hepatocellular Carcinoma Trends in Veterans.Nguyen V Pham, Rajat Singh, Mei Leng, Steven-Huy B Han, Folasade P May
Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2026-09-01
Press Mentions
TikTok’s New Favorite Drink? It’s Hot WaterMarch 4th, 2026
How Colorectal Cancer Is Missed in WomenMarch 3rd, 2026
Mental Health Conditions May Heighten Liver Cancer Risk in Veterans Due to Increased Hepatitis C, UCLA Study FindsDecember 3rd, 2025
Grant Support
- Evaluating a Multilevel Intervention to Increase Colonoscopic Follow-up after Abnormal Stool-based Colorectal Cancer Screening in a Community Safety-Net SettingUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES2024–2029
- Surveillance Colonoscopy in Older Adults: The SurvOlderAdults StudyVA SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM2023–2027
- Multilevel health system intervention to increase surveillance colonoscopy for high-risk colorectal polypsUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES2022–2027
External Links
- The May Labhttps://www.uclahealth.org/gastro/may-lab/about-us
- CNN commentary on Colorectal Cancerhttps://www.cnn.com/2020/09/04/opinions/chadwick-boseman-colorectal-cancer-disparity-may/index.html
- Academia and Racismhttps://www.healio.com/news/gastroenterology/20200616/from-words-to-actions-to-change-how-academia-can-respond-to-racial-injustice-in-america
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