CYTOPATHOLOGY UPDATES 2026 – An IAC Tutorial

Dr. Yuil-Valdes was born and raised in Panama. She is currently an Associate Professor and Medical Director of the Cytopathology Division at the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

She is board-certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, Cytopathology, and Hematopathology. She completed her Anatomic and Clinical Pathology residency at Northwell Health in New York. Then, she pursued fellowships in Cytopathology at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut and Surgical Pathology and Hematopathology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Dr. Yuil-Valdes is passionate about educating patients on cervical and breast cancer screenings and emphasizes the importance of pathologists interacting with patients.

Dr. Philippe Vielh directed the cytopathology unit at Institut Curie (Paris, France) for 13 years before moving to Gustave Roussy comprehensive cancer center (Villejuif, France) where he headed the cytopathology unit (2003-2015), the histocytopathology unit of the transnational research laboratory (2007-2014), and the institutional biobank (2011-2014). He then worked (2015-2019) at the Laboratoire National de Santé (Dudelange, Luxembourg) where he was mainly in charge of cytopathology. He is now working at Medipath and the American Hospital of Paris (France).

Dr Ashish Chandra MD FRCPath DipRCPath (Cytol), MIAC, Vice-President IAC, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom. He is a co-editor of the International system for reporting serous fluid cytopathology and is a contributor to other terminology systems and clinical guidelines. His interests include FNA, ROSE and genito-urinary histopathology.

Dr. Illei serves as Associate Professor of Pathology and Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as well as the Director of the Cytopathology Fellowship Program and Director of the Division of Thoracic Pathology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He received his Pathology residency training at New York University Medical Center in New York with fellowships in Oncologic Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Dr. Illei has participated in over 30 international workshops, seminars and online lectures. He has also participated in collaboration with international societies and universities in several cytopathology thoracic pathology tutorials.

Dr. Illei has published extensively with over 165 peer-reviewed articles in major scientific journals, 2 book chapters and electronic media. Known for his expertise in “Thoracic” pathology and cytopathology, Dr. Illei has served on several committees of the American Society of Cytopathology (ASC) and on multidisciplinary task forces resulting in practice guideline publications on rapid onsite evaluation (ROSE), collections and handling of thoracic biopsies and cytology samples (endorsed by 8 societies), acquisition and handling of endobronchial ultrasound transbronchial needle samples: an American College of Chest Physicians Clinical Practice Guideline, and a Delphi consensus definition of diagnostic yield and recommendations for patient-centered study designs.

Dr. Esperanza Teuzaba Torres graduated in Medicine in 1982, later as a pathologist in 1986 at the Universidad del Rosario, San Jose Hospital, Bogotá Colombia.

She trained in Cytopathology at the Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami. Miami and is currently professor at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, and the University Foundation of Health Science. Bogota.

She is the scientific director of Patolab laboratory, Clínica de la Mujer, Bogotá, where practices and training for cytology students take place.

Ex – Vice president of the Colombian Association of Pathology and director of the Division of Cytopathology, Colombian Association of Pathology

Currently working in the Cervical Cancer Agreement Group, developing guidelines, outlines, and efforts to reduce the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in Colombia.

Doing an important task in the introducing liquid-based cytology to the country in 2012, as well as the validation and diffusion of anal cytology.

For the last 10 years Esperanza has worked actively in the organization of Scientific Meetings, Cytopathology Congresses and an IAC Tutorial in Bogotá, Colombia.

She has been working on the preparation of the document and the guidelines for quality control in cytology in Colombia

She also collaborates, as a member of SLAC, with the development and improvement of Cytology in Latin America, with continuing education.