Faculty - Psychiatry Residency (PXH)

Sunil Verma, MD, MRCPsych, is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Chair, Dept of Psychiatry at Phoenixville Hospital. He was trained at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, Central Institute of Psychiatry Ranchi, and St. Mary’s Hospital London. Board Certified by ABPN, Dr. Verma is also the Thread Director for Behavioral Sciences at Drexel University College of Medicine and is involved in Residency education. His professional interests include c-l psychiatry, biological psychiatry psychopathology, and neuromodulation/ECT. His personal interests include travel, cricket, movies, and cooking.

Wei Du, MD, is chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Drexel University College of Medicine. He is a professor of psychiatry, pharmacology, and physiology at Drexel University.

He is a diplomate of American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, American Board of Addiction Medicine, and American Board of Preventative Medicine. His clinical interests include pharmacological management of schizophrenia, bipolar, addictive disorders, and chronic pain. He provides lectures on advanced psychopharmacology and addiction psychiatry. Dr. Du has been extensively involved both preclinical and clinical research including pharmaceutical drug development in his career.

Donna Sudak, MD, is Professor, Vice Chair for Education, and Director of Residency and Psychotherapy Training in the Department of Psychiatry at Tower Health - Drexel University. She is a clinician-educator with a wealth of experience in teaching and patient care. She has made several significant contributions to the literature in CBT education and has played a major role in developing suggested curricula and guidelines for resident competency in Cognitive Behavior Therapy. She also has multiple publications regarding combining treatment with medication and CBT. Her most recent book, Teaching and Supervising Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, written with a group of noted experts in CBT education, provides multiple resources for educators.

In addition to her teaching responsibilities at Drexel-Tower Health, Dr. Sudak is an adjunct faculty member at the Beck Institute. She is the Past President of The Academy of Cognitive Therapy, is the former Editor of the PIPE examination, has served on the Board of Regents of the American College of Psychiatrists, and serves on multiple national committees in Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training. She is a Past-President of AADPRT.

Zhabiz Kazeminezhad, MD, completed her doctorate at Drexel University College of Medicine and her residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in general adult psychiatry. She is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Kazeminezhad is also certified in Medication Assisted Treatment of Addiction and Electroconvulsive Therapy. Her clinical interests include psychopharmacology, addiction medicine, and acute/emergency psychiatry. Dr. Kazeminezhad's hobbies include cooking, traveling, spending time with family, and popular science books.

Ukpere Daniel Nimtor, MD, MSN, is an Outpatient Psychiatrist THMG, Collegeville, and a Consults and Liaison Psychiatrist at Phoenixville Hospital. Dr. Nimtor completed his medical education at Petrozavodsk State University in Russia and went on to complete a master’s degree in Psychiatric Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Nimtor completed both his residency in General Psychiatry and fellowship in Neuromodulation and Interventional Psychiatry at CMSRU/Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ. His interests include education/training, social psychiatry, psychopharmacology, biological psychiatry and interventional psychiatry. He is ABPN board eligible. Dr. Nimtor also speaks Russian, Swahili, and Ibo. His hobbies include driving, cooking, and mentoring.

Dr. Prasad R. Joshi is board-certified as a child / adolescent and adult psychiatrist. He is also trained as a molecular pharmacologist and neurobiologist. Dr. Prasad R. Joshi completed his medical training in India, at the MGM Medical College, University of Mumbai, in 1998. After briefly working in India in public health services, he relocated to the US and completed PhD in biochemistry/molecular pharmacology. He subsequently worked as a research scientist in various settings including academic and industrial research and development. Dr. Joshi has also previously taught pharmacology at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. He has prior research experience in CNS receptor pharmacology, electrophysiology, drug discovery, and neurobiology of diseases such as Huntington's disease, Parkinson’s disease, and pediatric epilepsy. He finished his residency and fellowship training at Hahnemann Hospital/Drexel College of Medicine in 2019. Before joining Tower Health in May 2024, Dr. Joshi worked in various clinical settings including residential treatment programs for autism and neurodevelopmental disorders, child and adolescent partial and inpatient hospitalization programs, adult inpatient programs, and child, adolescent, and adult outpatient programs. His research interests include psychiatric drug development including clinical trials. He is particularly interested in novel drug development for PTSD, autism spectrum disorder, and bipolar spectrum disorder. He is also interested in psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy. 

David Bennett, PhD, Professor, is Program Director for the PCIT Program and staff psychologist for the Grow Clinic at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. Dr. Bennett completed his doctorate in clinical psychology at Indiana University and his post-doctoral Fellowship in pediatric psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive adjustment of children from at-risk populations; screen media effects on children with autism; acceptance and Commitment Therapy for adults with chronic illnesses; and factors associated with successful treatment for women with substance abuse disorders. His hobbies include running, cycling, and playing with his two sons.

Donna McNelis, PhD, is the Director of Behavioral Healthcare Education, a large, multidisciplinary continuing education and consultation program. Prior to moving into the Dean’s Office, Dr. McNelis was Vice Chair for Administration for the Department of Psychiatry and worked closely with the Child/Adolescent program. She has interests in co-occurring disorders (mental illness and substance use, and mental illness and intellectual/developmental disability), behavioral health advocacy/policy development, and professionalism. Her interests include scuba diving and travel, and she is president of National Association for Mental Illness, Montgomery, PA.

Mary Anne Delaney, MD, is professor and former chair of the Department of Psychiatry, and former associate dean for faculty affairs at Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Delaney is associate director of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program. She is also board certified in psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry, with a limited practice of psychiatry with adults and a general practice of psychiatry with adolescents and children. Dr. Delaney is a trained psychoanalyst for adults, adolescents, and children.

April Fallon, PhD, is a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Drexel University College of Medicine. She has taught medical students, psychology and social work students, and psychiatric residents for 30 years. Dr. Fallon is a psychologist practicing in Bala Cynwyd. She has an interest in group therapy, body image and eating disorders, effects of physical abuse, and child adoption. Dr. Fallon also has a certification in group psychotherapy from the American Group Psychotherapy Association.

Mitzie Grant, PhD, is a Clinical Psychologist, specializing in Pediatric Neuropsychology. She is Director of Pediatric Neuropsychology, Department of Academic Psychiatry at Tower Health Medical Group at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Drexel University College of Medicine. She received her PhD from University of Texas and Fellowship in Pediatric Neuropsychology from Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Her offices are located in Child Neurology at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, where her clinical practice includes assessment and evaluation of children/youth with a wide range of medical conditions. Dr. Grant is also a member of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Treatment Program & Metabolic Program. Her research interests include cognitive and psychosocial functioning of individuals with chronic medical conditions. She enjoys teaching and participates in the education and training of neurology and psychiatry fellows, residents, medical students, and graduate psychology students.

Reem Tarazi, PhD, ABPP-CN, is an Associate Professor in Psychiatry and a board-certified pediatric neuropsychologist in private practice. Her clinical focus consists of evaluating children, adolescents, and young adults with complex pediatric medical and neurological conditions to assist with differential diagnosis, treatment management, and monitoring of functioning over time. She is involved in teaching in her department’s Child and Adolescent fellowship program and training doctoral students studying Clinical Psychology. Dr. Tarazi’s research interests include cognitive sequelae of sickle cell disease and transition to adulthood in youth with complex medical disorders. She is also a member of several committees within the department. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her three active sons, traveling, and puzzling.

Indranil Chakrabarti, MD, is the Psychiatry Clerkship Director and Psychiatry Pathway Director at Drexel University College of Medicine. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry. He is also board-certified in Clinical Informatics. Dr. Chakrabarti has an active interest in designing clinical education activities, including simulation exercises and integration of virtual interventions in training. He is also involved in organized medicine, advocating easier access to psychiatric care in rural and underserved communities.  

Christopher M. Owens, MA, LPC, is an instructor in the Division of Behavioral Healthcare Education (BHE) within Drexel's Department of Psychiatry. He provides continuing education to behavioral healthcare providers, with areas of teaching interest including psychopathology, trauma, substance use disorders, motivational interviewing, and ethics. He also serves as BHE's manager of technology and online education, maintaining online archives of recorded trainings for continuing and resident education. He is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Pennsylvania. In 2018, he served as co-chair of the Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association Conference "Fueling the Future."

Dr. Sujana Kurri Yerram is the Chair/Medical Director of the Center for Behavioral Medicine at Tower Health-Pottstown Hospital and the Chair of the Ethics Department.  She holds appointments as an Associate Professor for Drexel University College of Medicine and Assistant Professor for DeSales University.  Dr. Kurri Yerram received her undergraduate degree from Kurnool Medical College and completed an Internship/Residency at Albany Medical Center.  She also completed an MBA at SUNY, Albany.  She is board-certified by the ABPN and has extensive clinical experience in Psychiatry.  She has worked as a Principal Investigator and medical director in medical affairs, clinical trials, and post-marketing safety studies with Wyeth, Pfizer, and Janssen.  Dr. Kurri Yerram also enjoys traveling, reading, and movies.