Program Faculty Members
Pharmacy Residency Program at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
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.
Kayla Torppey, PharmD, BCPS
Assistant Director of Clinical Services
Residency Program Director
Kayla received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy 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 rounded on two teaching services. In 2025 she transitioned into her role as Assistant Direct of Pharmacy for Clinical Services.
Dehali Bandyopadhyay, MBA, 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
Dana Serao, PharmD, BCPS, BCEMP
Clinical Specialist, Emergency Medicine
Residency Program Coordinator
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 provided coverage for the lung transplant service for 6 months before transitioning into her role as the Emergency Medicine Clinical Pharmacist. As someone with an interest in many clinical areas, Dana appreciates being able to see it all in the ED, where she gets to work closely with the EM medical residents and team. She also loves being involved with various interdisciplinary committees and of course the pharmacy residency program.
Rouel Guiang, RPh
Clinical Specialist, Lung 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 has transitioned to focus on lung transplant and mechanical circulatory support in recent years.
Soonali Maniar, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Clinical Specialist, 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.
Grace Denton, PharmD, BCPS, BCPPS
Clinical Specialist, Pediatrics
Grace graduated from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2021 with a Doctor of Pharmacy. She went on to complete a PGY1 Pharmacy Residency in a pediatric setting at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. She joined Newark Beth Israel in 2024 and serves as the Pediatric Pharmacy Specialist for the Children’s Hospital of New Jersey. Her primary areas of focus include General Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, NICU, and PICU. One of Grace’s favorite aspects of NBIMC is the opportunity to practice across multiple specialty areas with a high level of involvement in patient care.
Somtoochukwu “Som” Ojukwu, PharmD, MHS
Clinical Specialist, Internal Medicine
Som earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 2023. She completed her PGY1 residency at St. Francis Hospital and Heart Center, where she led a Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy optimization project for patients with heart failure. She then completed a PGY2 residency in Geriatrics at James J. Peters VA Medical Center, where her research focused on reducing the use of sulfonylurea among older adults. Following her training, she joined Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Children’s Hospital as an Internal Medicine Clinical Specialist, where she continues to advance patient care through clinical expertise and evidence-based practice.
Rebecca Klein, PharmD
Clinical Specialist, Transitions of Care
Rebecca received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Toronto in 2019. She worked outpatient in both independent and chain retail pharmacies prior to completing her PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at Montefiore Nyack Hospital in 2023. Following her residency training, Rebecca worked as a consultant pharmacist and inpatient pharmacist at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center. She joined Newark Beth Israel Medical Center as the Transitions of Care Clinical Specialist in 2024.
Jose Lazo Jr, PharmD, MPH, BCTXP, BCPS
Clinical Specialist, Heart Transplant
Jose received his Doctor Of Pharmacy degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. He completed his PGY1 pharmacy practice residency at RWJ New Brunswick and a PGY2 in Solid Organ Transplant at UC San Francisco Health. Following post-graduate training, he stayed on at UCSF Health as a specialist in Solid Organ Transplant and later Advanced Heart Failure & Heart Transplantation. Jose has since returned to the RWJBH System seeking to expand services within the divisions of pharmacy and transplant.