Dr. Szeeley has dedicated over 30 years in psychiatry to treating the severely mentally ill, ranging from patients with schizophrenia to refractory depression, as well as those with intellectual or medical compromise. She is currently Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Division Director of Community Psychiatry, Cooper University Health Care (CUHC), and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. She received her M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where she also did her residency at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC). She also has a Master of Science Degree in Biostatistics/Human Genetics from the Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Szeeley has directed acute psychiatric units in several Medical Schools//university hospitals in Philadelphia as well as at Cooper, in addition to treating severely intellectually/medically  compromised patients in the nursing home setting. For over 15 years she has dedicated herself to ensuring the best treatment for people with severe mental illness as Medical Director of the Wiley Christian Community Day Program. She also is the Director of the Geriatric/Neuropsychiatry clinic with the third year residents at Cooper University Hospital. Dr. Szeeley also serves on the consultation service at Cooper.

Dr. Szeeley’s training at WPIC focused on accurate diagnosis and rational, effective psychopharmacology and this has been a focus of her role as both clinician and educator. She has served on the faculty of Temple University School of Medicine, the Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel) and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (now Rutgers). She has spent her last 20 years at CUH. During this time she has helped train over 100 residents and tried to impart to each of them the effectiveness of careful interviewing and diagnosis, as well as a method of ongoing treatment and evaluation, taking into consideration both psychosocial and biological aspects of the individual. She has mentored many fourth year residents in mastering the fine points of psychopharmacology and is currently working with a fourth year resident to evaluate the treatment of schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder at the Wiley Community Day Program. Dr. Szeeley’s other main focus is Neuropsychiatry, which involves the psychiatric treatment of adults with acquired neurologic impairments as well as those with developmental delay. 

In addition to the above Dr. Szeeley has a special interest in the role of animals in psychiatric treatment: both companion animals and trained therapy assistants have great potential to aid in the healing of those afflicted with mental illness. 

Dr. Magdy Takla grew up in Alexandria, a town on the coast of Egypt, and attended medical school there. After a few years of practicing medicine in his hometown, he moved to Zambia, working as an OB registrar. After coming to the United States, he did two years of surgical residency followed by three years of anesthesia residency at Brookdale University Hospital.

In his spare time, Dr. Takla enjoys reading, dining, and watching sports.

Prior to joining Cooper University Health Care as Chief of Neurosurgery, I spent 12 years at  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), building their program into one of the best cerebrovascular centers in the United States.

I have always strived to innovate and do research that is meaningful. I have had a natural curiosity about the working of things in general. In Pittsburgh, during my fellowship, I was closely involved in developing the field of endoscopic skull base surgery with Amin Kassam. Many of the seminal papers describing this technique, which was to have profound influence on neurosurgery, were written by Dr. Kassam and me.

Clinical innovation – This has taken place mainly in the field of cerebrovascular neurosurgery. My work has focused on multiple areas including brain aneurysm treatment, arteriovenous malformation, stroke and arteriovenous fistulas. A classification of carotid cavernous fistulas that I have developed is now known as the Thomas classification and is widely used all over the world.

In addition, I have spearheaded the wide adoption of flow diverter technology and improved its safety in patients, publishing more than 50 peer reviewed papers in the literature. More than 100,000 flow diverters have been placed globally, with our work playing a role in the expanded use of these devices. I edited a special edition of Neurosurgery (neurosurgery’s flagship journal) on this technology, published in January 2020. I have presented data on this technology at multiple meetings nationally and internationally and am recognized as a leading expert globally.

Technological advancement – I have been involved in various technology development projects. One such project involved developing a safe cranial drill with Harvard University which has been awarded a US patent.

Artificial intelligence – I have worked with L Pixel from Tokyo to develop automated MRI interpretation of brain aneurysms and with Qure.ai from Mumbai to assess hydrocephalus. Some of these data sets involve tens of thousands of patients. I have also been engaged with leadership of IBM – Watson Health to create a Neuroscience Center within IBM.

Basic science – I am an associate member of the Broad Institute, one of the world’s premier institutes focused on genomics. I have isolated early endothelial cells (periventricular endothelial cells) from the developing brain in the mouse. This was featured on the cover page of Brain Research and will have wide implications in our understanding of autism, schizophrenia, brain tumors, Alzheimer’s and their therapy.

Jesse Thon, MD joins the Cooper faculty following completion of a vascular neurology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He received his medical degree from Columbia University followed by neurology residency at the Harvard-Partners program at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He also completed a fellowship in Advanced General and Autoimmune Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is board certified in neurology and a member of the AAN.

Dr. Thon’s clinical interests are in acute neurologic disorders and inpatient neurology. With his background in vascular neurology and autoimmune neurology, he has a particular interest in neuro-immunologic conditions that affect the cerebral vasculature, including primary and secondary CNS vasculitis, inflammatory CAA, and neurosarcoidosis. He is passionate about medical education and greatly enjoys teaching residents and medical students. He believes in patient-based learning and uses rounding as an opportunity for high-yield teaching, making it a rewarding experience for trainees while improving patient care.