Medical Faculty

Certified by the American Academy of Pathology since November 1998, Dr. Lozada studied at the University of Puerto Rico’s School of Medicine from 1987 to 1991. He completed his internship on Internal Medicine as part of the Veterans Hospital Administration from 1991 to 1992, and continued his combined residency in anatomical and clinical pathology at the University of Puerto Rico’s School of Medicine from 1992 to 1996. Dr. Lozada is currently the Director of the Clinical Laboratory at Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital and HRP Labs Clinical Laboratory.

Dr. Billoch worked at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation as a Clinical Research Associate in New York in 1998. Certified by the American Board of Pathology since November 2012, he studied medicine at the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara in Mexico and completed his residency at University of Puerto Rico’s School of Medicine between July 2008 and June 2012, where he was chosen as chief resident (2011-2012). He became part of HRP Labs pathology faculty shortly after, and he has been Assistant Medical Director in HRP Labs since 2017. Dr. Billoch is also part of the Fine Needle Aspiration medical faculty.

Dr. Ferrer studied medicine at the University of Puerto Rico’s School of Medicine, where he also completed his internship in Pathology and his residency in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology between the years 1992 and 1996. From 1993 to 1996 he also worked as a “Gross Anatomy Pathology Dissector” at HRP Associates. Between 1996 and 1997, he completed a sub-specialty in Immunopathology at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL.

Certified by the American Board of Pathology since November 1998, Dr. Ferrer worked as a pathologist at University Pathology, Inc. and as Laboratory Director at Las Marias Reference Laboratory until 2001. He has been working at HIMA Caguas Hospital as Director of Anatomic Pathology, Director of Clinical Laboratory and Transfusion from then until present. He is currently the Technical Director of the Laboratory of Immunopathology division at HRP Labs.

Dr. García studied medicine at the Central University of the Caribbean’s School of Medicine, where she also completed her residency in Pathology between 2004 and 2008. From 2006 until 2007, she worked as an assistant pathologist at Domenech Pathology and Associates, and in 2008 went on to work as an Assistant Professor at the Ponce School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology. She was also evaluator of cases of anatomical and clinical pathology in Southern Pathology Services and as a Pathologist at Ponce Medical School. She became a part of the HRPLabs medical faculty in 2010, and has directed the Cytology department. Dr. García was certified by the American Academy of Pathology in May 2012, is now head of the Research and Development Division, and is also part of the Fine Needle Aspiration medical faculty.

Dr. Rosado studied at the University of Puerto Rico’s School of Medicine from 1990 to 1994, where she completed a combined residency program in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology from 1994 to 1998. She then completed a sub specialty in Surgical Pathology at the University of Alabama, and later her second subspecialty in Gastropathology and liver disease at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. She was certified by the American Academy of Pathology in November 1999.

Dr. Rosado has been a gastropathologist at HRP Labs since 2000. In her time working at HRP Labs, she has been a consultant in the Department of Gastroenterology at Veterans Hospital and serves as a member of the scientific committee of the Gastroenterology Association of Puerto Rico. She is currently the Director of the Department of Pathology at the Hospital del Maestro.

Dr. Torrellas studied medicine at the Central University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in 2005. Between July 2005 and in June 2006 she completed her internship in pathology at the University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine. She completed her residency at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in June 2010 and completed her sub specialty in Cytopathology at Tulane University of Louisiana School of Medicine in June 2011.

Dr. Torrellas joined the team of pathologists of HRP Labs in October 2014.  She is currently the Technical Supervisor of the Cytology Department.

Certified by the American Board of Pathology since July 2011, Dr. Arce studied medicine at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara in Mexico. She completed her transitional residency at the Damas Hospital in Ponce between 2006 and 2007.  During 2007 and 2011 she completed her residency in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology at the Medical School of the University of Puerto Rico, where she was chosen as chief resident (2010-2011). In 2017 she was appointed Technical Supervisor of the Histology Laboratory at HRPLabs.  She is also a part of the Fine Needle Aspiration Medical Faculty.

Dr. Pérez Berenguer was certified by the American Academy of Pathology since November 1998. He studied at the School of Medicine in Havana, Cuba in 1977 and completed his residency in pathology at the Salvador Allende Hospital in Cuba in 1981. From 1987 to 1994 he was director of the department of Neuropathology at the Pathology National Reference Center of Hospital Hermanos Ameijeiras in Cuba, where he also completed a second degree in Pathology. From 1988 to 1991 he completed the subspecialty in Neuropathology and Brain Biopsy in Stereotactic Neurosurgery at the Sainte Ann Hospital in Paris, France. He later acquired his second subspecialty in neuropathology at the Medical College of Virginia.

Today he is a Pathologist and Director of Neuropathology services at HRP Labs. He is Associate Professor at the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Pathologist and Neuropathology Consultant at the Veterans Hospital, ASEM Department of Pathology and The Institute of Forensic Sciences.

Certified by the American Academy of Pathology in August 2006 and recertified in 2016, Dr. Gutiérrez studied at the Ponce Medical School, graduating in 2000. She then completed her specialty in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus between 2002 and 2005. She worked as an instructor and then an assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy and Pathology at Ponce Medical School from 2006 to 2014. For the next several years, Dr. Gutiérrez worked for the Caribbean Cytopathological Center at Episcopal Hospital San Lucas, Ponce, as part of the staff of pathologists in 2016 and later as director of department. Dr. Gutiérrez participated on the Bio Tissue Bank project at the School of Medicine, a project between PSM-Moffitt Cancer Center, NIH U54 grant and U56 grant, first as a volunteer in the tissue collection, then as a co-leader and continues to collaborate with this project.

In 2014 Dr. Gutiérrez began working at HRP Labs as part of the medical faculty of pathologists. Then in 2016, she became director of the Pathology Department, Clinical Laboratory and Blood Bank of the Damas Hospital in Ponce.

Board certified by the American Board of Pathology since June 2023, Dr. Herrera Rivera completed her bachelor’s degree in cellular and molecular biology at the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras. She then pursued her doctoral degree in medicine at the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Caguas (2016). He completed his residency in Clinical Pathology at the University of Florida in Gainesville (2020-2023).

In July 2023 he joined the medical faculty of HRP Labs assuming the medical direction of several clinical laboratories of hospital institutions in Puerto Rico.

Dr. José R. De Jesús Meléndez completed his medical studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara in 2004, then made his residency in Anatomical Pathology and at the same year he became Board Certified in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology. Dr. De Jesus started his Fellowship of Breast Surgical Pathology from Moffitt Cancer Center and after completion, he returned to HRPLabs in November 2018.

Dr. Rivera studied at the Ponce School of Medicine, and later in 2010 completed her residency in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology at the University of Puerto Rico’s School of Medicine. She completed her subspecialty in Molecular Genetic Pathology at John Hopkins’ School of Medicine. She was certified by the American Board of Pathology and by the American College of Medical Genetics. In 2019, she joined the medical faculty at HRP Labs. Her area of expertise are cancer genetics and personalized medicine and therapy.

Dr. Rodríguez Medina graduated from the University of South Florida/Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida where he completed his PhD in Cancer Biology. After several years of research he started at the Ponce School of Medicine. In 2017 he completed his residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology in Hartford, Connecticut. In 2018 she completed her sub-specialty in Hematopathology. In 2019, he completed a second subspecialty in Molecular Pathology. Certified by the American Academy of Pathology (American Board of Pathology) since 2017.  In 2019, he joined the medical faculty of HRPLabs.

Dr. Rodríguez León graduated from the University of Puerto Rico’s School of Medicine. He also completed his residency in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology at the Medical Sciences campus of the University of Puerto Rico. In April of 2017, he visited the Department of Pathology of the School of Medicine at John Hopkins University through the program for minority and underrepresented resident medical students. Now in 2021, Dr. Rodríguez León will begin a sub-specialty in gastropathology at John Hopkins University.

Dr. Simmons graduated from Central University of the Caribbean in 1987 and completed his studies in Clinical and Anatomical Pathology at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus in 1994.

Dr. Simmons began working at HRPLabs in 1992 and currently serves at HRPLabs as director of the specimen dictation department and is in charge of the continuing education for pathology assistants.

Graduated from the School of Medicine at Health Science University Ponce. In 2020 he completed his residency in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine.

In 2020, he joined the HRPLabs medical faculty. Dr. Carballo is part of the Medical Faculty of our Fine Needle Biopsy clinics.

Dr. Carlos J. Sarriera Lazaro completed his undergraduate degree in Biology at Villanova University in Pennsylvania and attended medical school at the University of Puerto Rico. He did his residency in Dermatology at New York Medical College in New York and did his subspecialty in Dermatopathology at the University of South Florida and Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Jane L. Messina, a world renowned specialist in melanocytic lesions.

Dr. Sarriera Lazaro has a particular interest in neoplastic lesions and feels confident managing cases of inflammatory eruptions, alopecia and nail lesions. He has participated in several research projects during his years of training and, in addition to reading skin pathologies, he will be seeing patients as a dermatologist in his private clinic in the metropolitan area. Dr. Sarriera Lazaro is board-certified in Dermatology and is board-eligible for Dermatopathology.

Dr. Monroig-Bosque completed her MD degree from the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, and her PhD in research from the Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences / MD Anderson Cancer Center (2009-2016). She did her residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at Houston Methodist Hospital (2020) and was Board Certified by the American Board of Pathology the same year. Following her residency, she completed two subspecialties: General Surgical Pathology, and Breast and Gynecologic Pathology.

Dr. Marta Torres Quiñones, with more than 20 years of experience, obtained her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and attended medical school at the University of Puerto Rico. She did her residency in Anatomic Pathology at Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania where she participated in the dermatopathology service of both institutions, including the consultation service of Dr. David Elder. He also rotated through the dermatopathology service at the University of Puerto Rico. He then completed his subspecialty in dermatopathology with Dr. A. Bernard Ackerman at the Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology. With almost 20 years of experience in the field of dermatopathology, she is comfortable managing tumors, melanocytic lesions and inflammatory skin lesions. She is a fellow of ASDP, ISDP, CAP, USCAP and ASCP. Her interests include the use of artificial intelligence in pathology and digital pathology.

Doctor has been involved in artificial intelligence studies involving melanoma and PD-L1. Her most recent publication is: Red Dot Basal Cell Carcinoma: Literature Review of a Unique Clinical Subtype of Basal Cell Carcinoma. Cohen PR, Torres-Quiñones M, Uebelhoer NS.Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2021 Apr;11(2):401-413

.

Graduated from the Zaragoza School of Medicine in Spain. She completed her transitional internship at the Ramon Ruiz Arnau University Hospital in Bayamon Puerto Rico. She completed her residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. Dr. Elba Inés Garrastegui Cardé has served as assistant professor of the Department of Pathology, School of Medicine of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2005. She was president of the Medical Faculty of the Doctors’ Center Hospital Bayamón. Today she is the Director of the Clinical Laboratory of Doctors’ Center in Bayamon and Santurce. In August 2023 she joined the medical faculty of HRPLabs.

Graduated from Universidad Central del Este School of Medicine in the Dominican Republic. He completed his residency in Anatomic Pathology at Yale University/Yale New Haven Hospital in the program directed by Dr. Juan Rosai, in years when the program was ranked number one in the nation. Completed a specialty in Clinical Pathology at the University of Connecticut/John Dempsey Hospital. Certified by the Puerto Rico Board of Medical Examiners since 1990 in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology. Professor of Pathology and Physiology at Ponce School of Medicine, now PHSU, since 1990. Active in research at the same institution in gastrointestinal pathology, cardiovascular, renal, endocrinological, dysplasia and multiple malignancies. In May of this year he joined the HRP Labs family.