•By providing cytology resources in Spanish, the American Society of Cytopathology facilities

Action: Cytology education in Spanish-speaking communities is crucial for advancing healthcare and research in the region. This goal can be reached by fostering collaboration among cytology educators, researchers, and practitioners within Spanish-speaking communities and with international partners. This can facilitate knowledge exchange, research collaborations, and access to resources and encourage lifelong learning and professional development among cytology professionals through continuing education programs, conferences, and online resources. This ensures that practitioners stay updated with new developments in the field.

We are having issues finding the correct platform to create the interactive videos. Help/ advice is welcome.

Podcast: Another way to keep the website active and create a sense of community with the Hispanic-speaking communities is to create a podcast with different, successful, and known cytopathologists in the Hispanic communities. This will create a sense of belonging and community. The podcast will be released to the public quarterly.

Possible Podcast ideas:

- Merce Joda or Dr. Marilyn Rosa: Steps to becoming a cytopathologist in the US.

- Dr. Lola Lozano (including pathology residency): How is pathology/cytopathology practiced in Spain?

- Dr. Milagros Abad: What is the cytopathology practice in Latin America?

- Ricardo Bardales: The experience of an invasive cytopathologist.

Cytology observerships in the United States:

Since the job market in pathology is so hot, pathology residents are mainly doing one fellowship, and several (18%) go directly to a job after residency. Therefore, around 63% of cytopathology fellowships filled the position. Conversely, there needs to be formal cytopathology training in Latin America. The ASC, as a leading organization in the field, could play a crucial role in promoting observerships in cytopathology at institutions that do not fill this position; in this way, the programs will have an observer to help with the work, and in return, the observer learns cytopathology. We can do this with the Hispanic communities and as a global initiative. Once the observer has finished their (3-4 months) of training, the ASC and the home institution will provide a certificate of completion, validating their skills and knowledge in the field.

Action: The committee will review submissions and choose a winner according to the award criteria.  

The committee members will review the submissions and select a winner based on the award criteria.

In 2024, Dr. Nikka Khorsandi from the University of California, San Francisco, California, was the 2024 Recipient of the Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Research Award for his work on: Anal High-Risk HPV Genotype Prevalence: Unmasking Racial, Gender, and HIV-Related Disparities (PTS22)

Action: In 2022, the committee launched the Global Cytology Education program.

It consists of a Free multimodal learning course, including pre-workshop self-learning, engaging and interactive live virtual educational strategies, and scored self-assessments. Virtual lectures with dynamic, world-renowned faculty currently practicing in the United States are provided every two months with the opportunity for Q&A and the ability to share experiences from different cytopathology practice settings.

The 2023-2024 participants’ evaluation was excellent, with 93.1% of the participants finding the program to meet their expectations and only 6.9% falling below this mark. The course format was highly effective, with 98.3% of the participants finding it a successful way of delivering the material. Additionally, 98.3% of the participants agreed that the course material was appropriate for their level of education/training. Most notably, 100% of the participants agreed that the course was helpful. In summary, the course was rated as excellent by 72.4% of the participants, good by 25.9%, and fair by only 1.7%. (Table 1)

The committee members are currently analyzing the possibilities, which may lead to decreased participation in the live lectures. A key part of this analysis is gaining a better understanding of the audience's backgrounds, needs, and practical challenges. To achieve this, we have developed and distributed a survey that delves into more specific questions about the course and the communities where the participants belong.

Thank you to those who volunteered for this project 🙏.

We are looking for moderators for the lectures. If you are interested or know someone at your institution who might be, please let us know.

BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) is a nonprofit organization that works at the intersection of the private and public sectors to advance research and improve health.

To solve global health issues, BVGH connects people, resources, and ideas across biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, governments, and nonprofits.

•Present and discuss cases with a global pathology community.

•Interested? Fill out the Expression of Interest form using the QR code or email Ashly Senske – asenske@bvgh.org

Or contact me Cgimenez@northwell.edu

The abstract was accepted as a poster presentation for the 73rd Annual Scientific Meeting!!

Additional cytotechnologist meetings are scheduled with cytotechnologists/cytopathologists in Uruguay and Mexico

We have already recorded three lectures, and another is set to be recorded on October 13, 2025..

What are some ways we can increase the number of participants during the live lectures?

We could contact the BVGH to share the program’s schedule and help advertise it.

Open to new ideas!

The committee has contacted the IAC and is awaiting their response. We plan to follow up soon.

The ASC participated in a roundtable discussion titled "The Role of Scientific Societies in Continuing Education in Cytology." During the event, ASC citologia en Español was introduced and highlighted.

In July 2025, the committee submitted a proposal to the executive board to develop a virtual cytology conference with SLAC. We are currently awaiting the board's response.

During the Cytology conference in Argentina, Dr. Andrea Gerztein, current president of the Argentinean Society of Cytopathology (SAC), voiced her interest in signing an MOU with the ASC.

Dr. Gerstein hopes to establish a subspecialty status in cytology in Argentina, which would be a first in Latin America. She values the ASC's experience and expertise, and is interested in signing an MOU to support this goal.

The MOU with the SAC is written and ready to be presented to the executive board.

It was a fantastic experience. The participants were genuinely interested and friendly, with 232 people in attendance.