Dr. Fola May, a member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, has received an R03 grant from the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute. These grants are designed to help fund small research projects that can be completed in a short period of time.
With the funding, May will study the challenges and opportunities low-income people have to getting a colonoscopy after their results come back positive from a fecal immunochemical test. The fecal immunochemical test looks for blood in the stool, which can be a sign of colon cancer.
May will conduct her research with people who receive their medical care at the Northeast Valley Health Corporation in the Los Angeles area. The health care provider is a large federally qualified health center that specializes in primary and preventative care for anyone regardless of insurance coverage. The goal of the study is to improve screenings for low-income people.
May is an assistant professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Her research focuses on eliminating barriers for colorectal cancer screenings for both providers and patients.
