Program Faculty Members
Leadership
Kwakye Acheampong, PharmD, BCPS
Director of Pharmacy Services
Kwakye graduated from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University with his PharmD in 2004. He worked at Rite Aid for many years as a pharmacy manager and diabetes educator and preceptor for Rutgers School of Pharmacy and Albany School of Pharmacy for community pharmacy rotations. Kwakye joined Newark Beth Israel Medical Center as a Pediatric staff pharmacist in 2015, and assumed the role of Pharmacy Operations Supervisor in 2018. After transitioning to become the Assistant Director of Pharmacy Operations at Trinitas Regional Medical Center in 2022, he returned to “The Beth” as the Director of Pharmacy Services in early 2023.
Polly Jen, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP, AAHIVP
Assistant Director of Clinical Services
Residency Program Director
Polly received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University in 2007. She completed post-graduate training as a PGY1 Pharmacy Resident at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and a PGY2 Infectious Diseases Pharmacy Resident at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. After residency, Polly served as an Infectious Diseases clinical pharmacy specialist at University Hospital and then NYU Langone Health. She joined Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in her Assistant Director role in 2020.
Dehali Bandyopadhyay, PharmD, MS
Assistant Director of Pharmacy Operations
Dehali received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Oregon Health and Sciences University in 2009. She completed post-graduation training as PGY1 Pharmacy Resident at Deaconess Medical Center/Washington State University. After residency, she worked as a clinical pharmacist at a level one trauma center in the West Coast, before she became a Clinical Coordinator in 2013. She then obtained her Lean Sigma Green Belt training and certification from Johns Hopkins due to her heavy involvement in clinical operations and process improvement projects. She has been a preceptor at University of Connecticut, University of Maryland and Rutgers School of Pharmacy. Dehali assumed her role of Assistant Director of Pharmacy Operations at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in 2018.
Clinical Pharmacists
Amanda Clouser, PharmD, BCPPS
Clinical Specialist, Pediatrics
Amanda received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Long Island University in 2020. She completed her PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at NYU Langone Health and her PGY2 Pediatric Pharmacy Residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. She joined Newark Beth Israel Medical Center as the pediatric clinical specialist in 2022.
Dana Serao, PharmD, BCPS, BCEMP
Clinical Specialist, Emergency Medicine
Dana graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 2018. After completing her PGY1 pharmacy residency at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in 2019, she stayed at NBI to cover the lung transplant service for 6 months before transitioning into her current role as the Emergency Medicine Clinical Pharmacist. As a lover of many clinical areas, Dana appreciates being able to see all of it the ED, where she provides both operational and clinical services. She also serves as a residency ambassador for the health system.
Kayla Torppey, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Specialist, Internal Medicine
Residency Program Coordinator
Kayla received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences in 2014. Post-graduation, she completed her PGY1 residency at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. Following her clinical training, she stayed on at NBIMC as the Internal Medicine Clinical Specialist where she rounds on two teaching services and provides patient counseling. Kayla also works with the Transitions of Care program and counsels patients at high risk for readmission. She loves her involvement with the residency program and also serves as an ambassador for the health system.
Rouel Guiang, RPh
Clinical Specialist, Heart Transplant
Rouel Guiang graduated from the University of the Philippines Manila with a BSPharm in 1997. He worked in the medical industry for a year before continuing his education to receive his MD from the Far Eastern University Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation in 2003. He joined Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in 2006 as a staff pharmacist and became the clinical specialist for the Heart, Lung, and Kidney and Pancreas Transplant programs in 2008. His clinical practice transitioned to focus on cardiac transplant and mechanical circulatory support in 2017.
Soonali Maniar, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Clinical Specialist, Lung Transplant & Critical Care
Soonali received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Bouve College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University in 2008. Post-graduation, she completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Following her clinical training, she worked as a clinical pharmacist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and as a community pharmacist at a local independent pharmacy. After joining Newark Beth Israel Medical center as a staff pharmacist in 2016, she became the clinical specialist for the Lung Transplant program and later the Medical Intensive Care Unit.