Faculty

Dr. Audu graduated from medical school in Nigeria and moved to the US thirty years ago for postgraduate training. He completed both his residency and Neuro-anesthesia Fellowship at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia and stayed on as faculty for several years. He subsequently went into private practice for a few years before returning to academic practice at Cooper University Hospital, 5 years ago.

Dr. Audu enjoys playing tennis, ping pong, and soccer, and is a lay Pastor of a small inter-denominational Church in South Jersey. He is married with four kids.

Dr. Awad earned his degree in medicine from Ain Shams University School of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt in 1986. He completed a residency in anesthesia at New York University School of Medicine in 2000, and finished a fellowship in cardiac anesthesia at NYU in 2001. Dr. Awad is a Board Certified in Anesthesia and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Anesthesiologists. He also certified in peri- operative Transesophageal Echocardiography.

Dr. Awad is an associate professor of anesthesia at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in New Jersey. In his free time he enjoys soccer and movies.

Talia K. Ben-Jacob MD, MSc, is the Division Head of Critical Care Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology at Cooper University Hospital (CUH) and Associate  Professor of Anesthesiology at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU). She received her BS degree and MSc degree from Cornell University. She graduated from the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont College with her MD. She then completed her anesthesiology residency at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ, and critical care medicine fellowship at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University in St. Louis, MO. She returned to Cooper University Hospital after fellowship graduation where she currently practices a mix of anesthesiology and critical care in a multidisciplinary intensive care unit. She has been awarded the Department of Anesthesiology Resident Champion Award in 2017, 2018, and 2019. She was also the recipient of the 2019 Cooper University Hospital Junior Faculty of the Year Award.

Dr. Ben-Jacob is also very active in her professional societies. She is a member of the SOCCA Education Committee and Research Committee. She is the founding Co-Chair of the Society of Critical Care Medicine Women in Critical Care Knowledge and Education group as well as member-at-large of Anesthesiology Section Steering Committee. Dr. Ben-Jacob also currently serves on the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Committee on Critical Care Medicine and Committee on Young Physicians. During her tenure on these committees, Dr. Ben-Jacob was chair of the revision of the Anesthesia-ACLS: First Response to Circulatory Crisis in the OR online CME module, a joint ASA/SOCCA initiative. In addition to her active roles in professional organizations, she is very involved in her hospital system and medical school. She is also a mother to three young amazing individuals.

Dr. Kelly Bolkus grew up in southern New Jersey and obtained her undergraduate degree from Rutgers Camden as a biology major. After college, she worked as an ED technician for a few years before deciding to pursue a career in medicine. She completed her medical education at UMDNJ-SOM followed by an anesthesia residency at Cooper University Hospital.

Dr. Bolkus serves on the regional and pediatric anesthesia teams. She enjoys teaching medical students, SRNAs, and residents on a daily basis. In her free time she enjoys running, spending time with family, and watching anime.

Dr. Ian Brotman is from East Brunswick, NJ, and attended medical school at Rutgers NJMS. He completed a medical internship in Newark, NJ, before moving to Pittsburgh for his anesthesiology residency at UPMC. Following residency he returned east for a pediatric fellowship at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

His nonclinical interests include medical education improvement, and in his free time enjoys rock climbing, obstacle course races, and cooking.

Amanda R. Burden, MD is Professor of Anesthesiology, Vice Chair and Vice Chief of Faculty Affairs, and Director of Clinical Skills and Simulation at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ. Her research and publications address the use of simulation to explore a range of physician education, teamwork, healthcare quality, and patient safety issues, and received an Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) Safety Scientist Career Development Award as well as funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. She has been an invited speaker at national and international anesthesiology meetings as well as at the United States Department of Education and White House Office of Science and Technology to discuss patient safety strategies and simulation education.

Dr. Burden practices anesthesiology and pediatric anesthesiology. Her clinical focus is critically ill adults and children. Working with a diverse team, she built and directs a successful multidisciplinary interprofessional simulation program and laboratory. Dr. Burden serves as Editor-in-Chief of American Society of Anesthesiologists Simulation-Based Education Editorial Board.

Dr. Sarah Clarke grew up in rural Connecticut and studied biology at Earlham College in Indiana. She pursued medicine at Touro University of Osteopathic Medicine in California. She completed her internship at university of Massachusetts, and then completed her anesthesiology residency and critical care fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

In her free time, Dr. Clarke enjoys her family and refurbishing their sailboat. 

Dr. Ronak Desai grew up in suburban Philadelphia and studied Music and Chemistry at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University. He later matriculated at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, graduating second in his class, and completed his Anesthesiology residency at the University of Chicago Hospitals, serving as Chief Resident.

Dr. Desai spends his clinical time at CUHC both in regional and cardiac anesthesia. In his free time, he enjoys music, golf, and travelling with his family.

Dr. Grace Dippo grew up in southern New Jersey and studied chemistry and music at Drew University. She was an EMT for several years before pursing medicine further at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Her intern year was completed at Wheaton Franciscan St. Joseph Hospital in Milwaukee, followed by Anesthesiology residency at Cooper University Hospital.

Dr. Dippo has a special interest in education and feels honored to be a resident mentor and co-coordinator of the board review program for the Anesthesiology residency at Cooper. She is on the obstetric, regional, and pediatric anesthesia teams and enjoys a great variety of cases. She loves art, music, high fantasy, black cats, and fitness.

Gregory Dodson, DO, grew up in the Poconos of Northeast PA and completed his undergraduate work at the University of Scranton. He attended the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford, NJ before his internship and Anesthesia Residency at Cooper. He completed a pediatric anesthesiology fellowship at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 2015 and worked in private practice before returning to his roots at Cooper in 2017. He has served as the medical director of the Cooper Surgery Center at Voorhees since 2018.

Dr. Dodson enjoys traveling and hiking with is family and vizsla puppy, Gryffin.

Dr. Mele grew up in New York City and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Scranton. She attended medical school at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA, and completed a OB-GYN residency in the University of Pennsylvania Health System at Pennsylvania Hospital.

After a successful career as an obstetrician gynecologist Dr. Mele wanted to expand her knowledge and completed a second residency in Anesthesiology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

At Cooper, she is the Director of Obstetric Anesthesia and is dually boarded in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Anesthesiology.‚Äã She is a key member of the departmental Quality and Safety Division. In her free time she enjoys reading, rare quiet moments and spending time with her family.

Dr. Robert Romisher graduated from Nova Southeastern University where he received his degree in Osteopathic Medicine and finished his residency in Hahnemann Hospital. He joined the Department of Anesthesiology at Cooper in 2002 as a staff anesthesiologist to direct ambulatory anesthesia services, and also works in the main operating room. Dr. Romisher is Board certified in anesthesiology. He is a member of the American Osteopathic Association and The American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Dr. Jasjit Sehdev was raised in Baltimore, MD; however, being born in Hoboken, NJ, he is a Jersey native at heart. He completed a competitive seven-year BS/MD program at Drexel University and Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. During his surgical intern year, he trained at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA.

Dr. Sehdev moved back to Philadelphia and completed his residency and fellowship training in Anesthesiology and Pain Management at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ. He enjoyed his time during training so much that he joined the Cooper family as clinical and academic faculty. He has been in practice since 2016 as an anesthesiologist and interventional pain specialist in the Department of Anesthesiology. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, traveling, football, basketball, tennis, golf, and spending time with family.