Board of Directors

Professor Fernando Schmitt is a Professor of Pathology at the Medical Faculty of University of Porto, Senior Researcher and Head of Molecular Pathology Unit at IPATIMUP, Director of RISE (Clinical and Transnational Research Network of the Medical Faculty), Past-President of the International Society of Breast Pathology and President of the International Academy of Cytology (IAC). He has authored over 500 papers in peer-reviewed journals, 33 book chapters, and is the editor of six books. Prof Schmitt is widely considered a world-leading expert in cytopathology and breast cancer. Fernando was a fellow at the Karolinska Medical Hospital, Stockholm, and was a Professor of Pathology at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil, and University of Toronto, Canada. He was also Director of the Department of Medicine at Laboratoire national de Santé, Luxembourg. His research work is on breast cancer, with emphasis on molecular markers, cell adhesion and invasion, therapeutic targets, and mechanisms of resistance. In the last years, his research work has been dedicated to the study of molecular markers on cytological material. Fernando serves as Editor in Chief of Pathobiology and Associate Editor of six major scientific journals and sits on the editorial board of many others. He is a standing member of the WHO-IAC Classification of Tumours. He has also been chair, president, or scientific director of several major European, Portuguese, and Brazilian scientific societies of pathology and cytology. He received the following prizes: Educator of the Year 2011 by the PSC, GOLDBLATT AWARD 2013 by the IAC, Dario Cruz 2018 from the Portuguese League Against Cancer for his career as a researcher in breast cancer, and the 2021 International Achievement Award from the American Society of Cytopathology.

Dr. Bongiovanni is head of Cytopathology at SYNLAB Pathology in Lausanne, Switzerland.

He is member of the Pathology Expert Group, at SYNLAB International, Member (MIAC) and then Fellow (FIAC) of the International Academy of Cytology since 2016.

Dr Bongiovanni completed his medical studies in 1997 and his residency in Pathology in 2002 at the University of Turin in Italy. In 2003, he joined the Institute of Pathology at the University Hospital of Geneva (HUG), where he began his scientific and clinical work in the field of pathology and cytopathology. After gaining experience in Ticino as deputy director of the Cantonal Institute of Pathology (2010-2014), he was appointed as associate professor and head of the Department of Cytopathology at the Institute of Pathology of the University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV, 2014).

He is the author of more than 200 scientific articles and 15 book chapters. He was Vice President of the Swiss Cytology Society (2015-2021) and member of the Endocrine Tumor Group of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). He is associate editor of the journal Acta Cytologica and participates in the editorial board of the journal Diagnostic Cytopathology. He is currently co-chair of the scientific committee of the European Federation of Cytology Societies (EFCS).

Dr. Ali serves as Professor of Pathology and Radiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as well as the Director of the Division of Cytopathology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He received his Pathology residency training at North Shore University Hospital/Cornell University in New York with fellowships in Oncologic Surgical Pathology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and Cytopathology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Known globally as an innovative educator, Dr. Ali has over 350 invited lectures, keynote speeches and visiting professorships all over the world. In collaboration with international societies and universities, he directs or co-directs several annual major cytopathology tutorials.

Dr. Ali has published extensively with over 320 peer-reviewed articles in major scientific journals, over 35 books, book chapters and electronic media. Known for his expertise in “Thyroid” and “Pancreatic” cytopathology, his monograph on “The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology” (now in its 3rd edition) has been translated in 8 languages and is extensively used in medical practice all over the world. He is the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology (JASC) and has served as member of the executive board and chair of the scientific program and several other committees of the American Society of Cytopathology (ASC). He is a past-President of the ASC, President-elect of the International Academy of Cytology (IAC) and chair of the International Board of Cytopathology of the IAC. He is a fellow of both, the Royal College of Pathologists (UK) and the IAC. He is recipient of the ASC’s “Warren R. Lang Award” in 1996, “President’s Award” in 2012, “Excellence in Education Award” in 2015, the IAC’s “Maurice Goldblatt Award” in 2019 and Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology’s “LC Tao Educator of the Year Award” in 2022.

Professor Andrew Field received his medical degree from the University of New South Wales in 1978. He completed his anatomical pathology training in 1985 and gained the FIAC in 1990. He obtained the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Diploma of Cytopathology in 1996.

He is the Director of the Department of Anatomical Pathology at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, and Conjoint Professor at the University of New South Wales, Sydney St Vincent’s Hospital Medical School, and Adjunct Professor at Notre Dame University Medical School, Sydney.

He is a dedicated teacher of cytopathology in his Department, at national meetings and at IAC Tutorials and tutorials in low and middle income countries.

He is committed to fostering the development of cytopathology in the developing world, and since 2007 has helped organize and taught at some 26 tutorials in Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia with Drs William Geddie from Toronto, Matthew Zarka from the Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, Martha Pitman from Massuchusets General Hospital and other local and international speakers. He has also been a regular invited speaker at the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology annual companion meetings, the International Academy of Pathology (IAP) Congresses, Asian Pacific Assembly of the IAP Congresses, the International Cytology Congresses, the International Academy of Cytology Tutorials and the European Congress of Cytology.

He has been on the IAC Board since 2013, President 2019 to 2022, and is currently the immediate past President.

He has been a Council member and president of the Australian Society of Cytology, a Board member of the Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology for several periods since 2006 and a foundation member of the African Strategies for Advancing Pathology organization, which advocates for and co-ordinates improvements in pathology services in Africa.

He has had a long interest in the establishment of international standardized reporting systems in FNAB cytopathology to assist patient care and research, and was a contributing author to the Papanicolaou Society System for Reporting Pancreaticobiliary Cytology and the ‘Milan’ system for Salivary Glands, and co-editor and lead author of the IAC Yokohama System for Reporting Breast Cytopathology.

In May 2020 he was appointed as a Member and in 2021 Co-Chair of the inaugural WHO IAC IARC Cytopathology Joint Standing Editorial Board responsible for the four new WHO reporting systems on Lung, Lymph Nodes, Pancreatico-Biliary and Soft Tissue cytopathology. He is also on the Standing Editorial Board for the WHO Classification of Tumours.

He has authored or co-authored more than 73 articles and published three textbooks and eighteen book chapters, including in 2014, Lymph Node and Spleen Cytohistology, co-authored with Dr William Geddie from Toronto, then Practical Cytopathology: A Diagnostic Approach to Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy, co- written and edited with Dr Matthew Zarka, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale in 2017, and in 2020, The IAC Yokohama System for Reporting Breast FNAB Cytopathology, co-edited with Wendy Raymond and Fernando Schmitt.

He is on the Editorial Boards and reviews articles for Acta Cytologica, Cancer Cytopathology, Diagnostic Cytopathology, the Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology and other journals.

He has received a number of national and international awards including the American Society of Cytopathology Award in 2022 and the IAC Goldblatt Award of 2022.

Dr Ashish Chandra is the lead uropathologist and cytopathologist at Guy’s & St. Thomas’ Hospitals, London where he has been based since 2001. He is a member of the Cytopathology Specialist Advisory Committee at RCPath, is an active member of the British Association of Cytopathology (BAC) and Deputy editor of the journal, Cytopathology.

He has an interest in FNA, ROSE and in developing reporting terminologies including the UK RCPath terminology for thyroid cytology, and a contributor to the Paris, Milan and WHO/IARC lung cytopathology reporting systems. He is a co-editor of The International System for reporting serous fluid cytopathology

Dr. Pitman is an internationally recognized expert in the field of cytopathology and fine needle aspiration cytopathology in general, and pancreaticobiliary cytopathology, in particular. She is a Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and practicing pathologist in cytopathology and gastrointestinal surgical pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she obtained her residency and fellowship training. She is past president of the Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology and past President of the American Society of Cytopathology. She has been Associate Editor of Cancer Cytopathology and The Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology and is currently active on the editorial boards of several journals. She is the lead author of the PSC Pancreaticobiliary Terminology System for reporting pancreaticobiliary cytology as well as the new WHO Reporting System for Pancreaticobiliary Cytology. She is also on the Standing Committee (one of 5 series editors) for all WHO Reporting Systems. Her clinical research is devoted to the investigation of the early detection of pancreatic cancer, especially in association with mucinous pancreatic cysts.

Dr Pamela Michelow graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand with an MBBCh in 1989. In 2007, she completed an MSc in Cytopathology from Stellenbosch University and in 2016, a postgraduate diploma in Health Science Education from University of the Witwatersrand. She currently has a joint post at the University of the Witwatersrand and the National Health Laboratory Service (the South African public sector laboratory). She is past president of the South African Society for Clinical Cytology (SASCC) and participated as an expert committee member to advise the South African Department of Health on cervical screening policy from 2011-2016. She also served on the International Academy of Cytology general policy and long-term planning committee from 2001-2003 and again in 2008-2010.

Dr Michelow has published over 70 journal articles and book chapters, is an editorial board member for several cytopathology journals, has organised symposia and workshops, and is frequently invited to speak at both national and international pathology congresses. She has continuing interests in visual literacy, the roles of exfoliative and aspiration biopsy cytology in under-resourced communities and in quality standards in cytopathology.

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.

Dr Tse is a professor in the Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology, Prince of Wales Hospital and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is the vice president for Asia for IAP, and the president of the Hong Kong Division of International Academy of Pathology. He is currently the Regional Editor for Australasia for Histopathology, section editor for Diagnostic Pathology, associate editor for Pathology, editorial advisory board member for Cancer Cytopathology, overseas editor for Journal of the American Society of Cytopathology, outreach editor for Cytopathology, and editorial board member for other journals including Acta Cytologica, Chinese Pathology Journal, Modern Pathology and Seminars in Diagnostic Pathology. Dr. Tse has given many invited presentations, convened regional and international meetings and has published actively in breast pathology, and has published extensively.

Dr. Yukitoshi Satoh, MD, PhD, FIAC is the Professor and Chairman of Thoracic Surgery at the Kitasato University School of Medicine and the Director of the Kitasato University Medical Center Hospital, Japan. Currently, he serves as the former President of the Japanese Society of Clinical Cytology (JSCC), the largest national society of cytology worldwide with over 12,000 members. Previously, in 2020, he served as the Congress President of the JSCC.

Dr. Satoh graduated from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo. He obtained training in pathology and cytology at the Cancer Institute and in surgery at the Mitsui Memorial Hospital and Cancer Institute Hospital. He is a board-certified thoracic surgeon at the Japan Surgical Society and a board-certified cytopathologist at the JSCC.

His research interests include clinical and basic research in thoracic oncology and cytology, particularly in the diagnosis of thoracic malignancies and genomic analyses of lung adenocarcinomas.

He is also interested in cytomorphologic diagnosis of lung cancers and development of reporting terminologies for respiratory cytology and has contributed to the World Health Organization Reporting System for Lung Cytopathology. He has authored and co-authored over 200 peer reviewed scientific articles regarding thoracic oncology including cytology.

Moreover, he seeks to promote the globalization of respirator cytology and academic improvement of IAC.

Donna Russell is a graduate of the State University of New York – Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, NY and has been an employee at the University of Rochester Medical Center for over 35 years. She received her Master’s in Education from the University of Rochester Graduate School of Education and currently is the Education Coordinator of the Cytopathology Resident/Fellow Training program at the University of Rochester. She also is the Program Director of the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center/Daemen College School of Cytotechnology. She currently is educating the eighth class from this Master’s level program in cytology.

Donna is an active member of numerous cytology organizations. Her special interests are in gynecologic, cell block preparation, ROSE and telecytology. She has published book chapters and many manuscripts in all areas of cytology. Donna has played an active role in teaching within the IAC, ECC, ASC, ASCP, ASCT and CAP. She has presenting numerous workshops, panel luncheons, and teleconferences in diagnostic cytopathology and related topics.