Hematology & Oncology

Division of Hematology and Oncology

W. Stratford May, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. W. Stratford May, Jr., M.D., Ph.D.
Henry E. Innes Professor of Cancer Research
Professor, Department of Medicine

UF Shands Cancer Center
Cancer and Genetics Research Complex
P.O. Box 103633
1376 Mowry Road Suite 145
Gainesville, FL 32610-03633
(352) 273-8010 (Phone)
(352) 273-8109 (Fax)

Training:

Degree
Program		 Institution Field/Specialty
1970–75 Ph.D. Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA Microbiology
1973–77 MD Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C.  
1977–80 Internship and Residency The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD  
1980–82 Medical Oncology Fellowship The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD  
1983–84 Post-Doctoral Fellowship Wellcome Research Laboratories, Research Triangle Park, NC Molecular Biology Laboratories


Clinical Activities:

Faculty member of the Hematological Malignancies and Blood and Marrow Transplant Team in the Division of Hematology/Oncology.

Educational Activities:

PI for the T32 Training Grant in Cancer Biology which sponsors pre-doctoral candidates and post-doctoral fellows.

Research Activities:

Discovery-driven research involving the molecular mechanisms by which hematopoietic growth factors regulate the cell signaling responsible for efficient cell growth of both normal and malignant/leukemic hematopoietic cells. Dr. May’s research is focused on regulation of apoptosis by Bcl2 and other anti- or pro-apoptotic factors. Dr. May also works on the three novel genes discovered by his laboratory: 1.) RAX (PKR-associated protein X) which is the only known cellular activator of PKR; 2.) JAZ (Just-another-zinc finger protein) which is a novel, direct activator of p53; and 3.)  KOS (kinase of embryonic stem cells) which is a negative regulator of Ras and a tumor suppressor gene. His research is funded by the NCI and NHLBI of the NIH.

Selected Publications:

  • Hoare, K., Hoare, S., Smith, O.M., Kalmaz, G, Small, D., and May, W.S.  Kos1, A Novel Non-Receptor Tyrosine Kinase that Suppresses Ras Signaling.  Oncogene 22.23:3562-3577, 2003.
  • Deng, X., Gao, F., Flagg, ,T., May, W.S.  Mono- and Multi-Site Phosphorylation Enhance Bcl2’s Anti-Apoptotic and Inhibition of Cell Cycle Entry Functions.  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 101, 153-158, 2004.
  • Bennett, RL, Blalock, WL, Yu, P and May, WS.  RAX, the PKR activator, sensitizes cells to inflammatory cytokines, serum withdrawal, chemotherapy and viral infection.  Blood. 108(3):820-821, 2006.
  • Deng, X., Gao, F., Flagg, T., Anderson, J., May, W.S.  Bcl2’s Flexible Loop Domain Regulates p53 Binding and Survival.  Molecular Cell Biology. 26(12):4421-4434, 2006.
  • Konopleva, M., Contractor, R., Ruvolo, P., Deng, X., Samudio, I., Verheagen M., Soengas, M., Shi, Y., McQueen, T., Ling, X., Marini, F., Harris, D., Estrov, Z., McCubrey, J., May, W.S., Fesik, S.W., Elmore, S., Rosenberg, S., Reed, J., Andreef, M.  Mechanism of Bcl-2 Small Molecule Inhibitor-Mediated Apoptosis in Acute Leukemia Cells.  Cancer Cell. 10(5):375-88, 2006.
  • Yang, M., Song, W., Su, X., Sanks, A., May, W.S.  JAZ Negatively Regulates G1 Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis by Positively Regulating p53 Transcription Activity.  Blood. 108(13):4136-45, 2006.

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