Dr. Ana Yuil-Valdes, an associate professor and medical director of the Cytopathology Division in UNMC’s Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, keeps busy with her classes, and guiding and mentoring students and colleagues. But she also finds time for volunteer work, having run College of American Pathologists Foundation (CAPF) See, Test and Treat programs for several years in Omaha, serving on CAP See, Test & Treat committees and joining the CAP Foundation’s Board of Directors this year.
Her work in advancing the free, pathologist-led cancer screening and health education program for women was recognized in 2024 when she received the Gene and Jean Herbek Humanitarian Award from the CAP Foundation. “It was such an honor,” Dr. Yuil-Valdes said. But she said being able to help provide essential health care to women in the community who might otherwise go without is the real reward. Also, she said the See, Test & Treat events are a great opportunity for her and fellow pathologists to educate people about what they do and advocate for the profession.
Dr. Yuil-Valdes was invited by a UNMC colleague at the time, Dr. John Baker, to help at a See, Test & Treat clinic in Omaha in 2017. There, she met Dr. Gene Herbek, a past president of CAP who started the program in 2001 and who served as an inspiration. “An amazing doctor, physician, human being,” she said. But she said the opportunity to meet patients face to face was gratifying as well.
“I completely fell in love with that interaction with the patient,” she said. And the Panama native said she could see that the many Spanish-speaking women coming to the event for cervical and breast cancer screening appreciated being able to talk with a doctor in their own language. “That made a huge difference, because they know that you care.”
The doctors and staff at the See, Test & Treat events give patients lab results during the visit and schedule follow-up appointments if needed. Transportation and child care are also provided, she said, and starting in 2026, See, Test & Treat will be expanding its grant funding to enable programs to reach and meet the needs of even more communities.
“The CAP Foundation covers the costs of the See, Test & Treat program,” she said. But that testing and the comprehensive patient support are expensive, which is one reason CAPF can only fund a little over a dozen See, Test & Treat clinics around the country each year. To continue providing essential services to patients, the CAPF requires donations. See, Test & Treat is CAPF’s main initiative but far from its only endeavor. The foundation also funds scholarships and grants here in the U.S. and in more than a dozen countries.
“Our mission at the foundation is to advocate for pathology as a profession,” she said. “I think that’s important for pathologists to not just sit at a desk and look at cases. We need to be visible for the sake of the profession.”
Dr. Yuil-Valdes earned her MD from Escuela Autonoma de Ciencias Medicas de Centro America, San Jose, Costa Rica, and completed a residency in anatomic pathology in Panama. She came to the United States in 2009, completing anatomic and clinical pathology residencies in New York and a cytopathology fellowship in Hartford, Connecticut. She came to Omaha in 2015 and completed fellowships in surgical pathology and hematopathology at UNMC before joining the medical center faculty in 2017.
“It’s been a long journey,” she said. But the work keeps her energized. “I like to mentor medical students, pathology residents and early-career faculty and share my passion for cytopathology. And I really enjoy every day what I do, looking forward to my cases. I think when you enjoy what you do, you don’t get tired. It’s also important, super important, to keep that balance with your job and your family. Because I also prioritize my time with my family.” Yuil-Valdes and her husband, a vascular neurologist, have two daughters, ages 18 and 11.
There’s one thing in particular she tries to share with her children and the young professionals she mentors. “You have to be proud of who you are, you need to be proud of your cultural background. And if you have an accent, you don’t have to be ashamed. My accent is part of what I am. To do your job you need to be confident about yourself and be proud of who you are no matter what.”
