Emergency Medical Services Fellowship Faculty

Gerard Carroll, MD, is the Program Director of the Emergency Medical Services Fellowship at Cooper University Hospital and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. He graduated from Brandeis University with a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in History. As an undergraduate Dr. Carroll became passionate about Emergency Medical Services, and following graduation became certified as a Paramedic . He worked for nearly a decade in the New York City 911 system and was recognized for his service on the morning of the 9-11 attacks. He then earned his medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School where he was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. He competed Emergency Medicine Residency at Temple University Hospital and completed a fellowship in Emergency Medical Services at Cooper University Hospital. He is dual board certified in Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services.

Dr. Carroll thrives on prehospital and disaster medicine and is passionate about resident, fellow, and especially about prehospital provider education. He was integral in the creation of our EMS fellowship and is excited to be the second Program Director. Dr. Carroll believes in the apprenticeship model of medical education and created Cooper’s prehospital physician response program to bring both physician level care to patients and to move the bedside teaching model to the prehospital arena. 

Dr. Carroll loves the practice of academic Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services, and is not satisfied with the status quo. He believes strongly that EMS is a practice of medicine and as such needs to constantly be refocused on patient outcomes while optimizing its place in the healthcare system. He is a champion of nontraditional transport models, and helped spearhead the movement of addiction medicine into the field by educating paramedics about Opioid Use Disorder and training them to rescue patients in withdrawal with Medication Assisted Therapy using buprenorphine. Dr. Carroll loves the varied practice environments of EM and EMS making academic, rural, prehospital, austere disaster deployment, and even cruise ship medicine a part of his medical practice.

Paul Comber, MD, serves as the Assistant EMS Medical Director and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. He graduated from Rowan University with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Neuroscience. He attended Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and graduated with a Distinction in Academics and Service Learning. He then completed his Emergency Medicine Residency and Emergency Medical Services and Disaster Medicine Fellowship at Cooper University Health Care.

Dr. Comber was first introduced to EMS during undergraduate training at Rowan University. He spent four years with Rowan EMS and eventually served as Captain during his senior year. He continued his involvement and growth within the field of EMS throughout both medical school and residency. 

Dr. Comber’s career goals are to help advance the field of EMS, improve collaboration among pre-hospital and hospital-based providers, and to continue to bridge the care gaps of underserved populations.

Lisa Drago, DO, is the Pediatric EMS Medical Director at Cooper University Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. She graduated from West Chester University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry. As an undergraduate Dr. Drago became involved in Emergency Medical Services as a volunteer EMT and was the EMS director for West Chester University EMS. She then earned her medical degree from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine where she was inducted into the PSI Sigma Alpha National Osteopathic Scholastic Honor Society. Dr. Drago completed a Pediatric Osteopathic Internship at Newark Beth Israel Hospital and a Pediatric Residency at Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children. She then went on to complete a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at the Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper University. She is board certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, and Emergency Medical Services.

Dr. Drago is passionate about prehospital education. She enjoys serving as faculty for Cooper’s EMS fellowship program and providing education to prehospital providers. Dr. Drago received a pediatric prehospital education grant from the Cooper Foundation to provide pediatric education and simulation for prehospital providers. Her special interests include addressing pediatric pain and safe transport of pediatric patients. She has had the privilege of speaking at The National Conference on EMS, EMS Today The JEMS Conference and Exposition, The EMS World Expo and many local/regional conferences.

Alexander Kuc, MD, serves as Assistant EMS Medical Director and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. He graduated from Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York with a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry. Following an initial career in EMS he returned to school, earning a Master of Science in Nutrition from Columbia University, followed by his medical degree from St. George’s University. Alex began his Emergency Medicine residency training at Drexel University in Philadelphia before ultimately graduating from Cooper after the closure of Hahnemann University Hospital. He then completed an Emergency Medical Services fellowship at Cooper and has since stayed on as faculty.

Prior to medical school, Dr. Kuc worked as an EMT in the Hudson Valley region of New York, while also volunteering for Bard College EMS and eventually serving as Director. After moving to New York City he continued to work as an EMT for FDNY EMS, and spent two years working in Brooklyn and Harlem. These years in the prehospital environment have left a lasting impression on Alex, and have guided the path of his career. He now enjoys combining aspects of both prehospital and emergency department care in his practice, and brings a unique perspective when educating EMS providers as well as residents in the hospital. ​

Major (Maj.) Simon Sarkisian, DO, MS, FAAEM is a U.S. Army Reserve physician and attending physician in Cooper University Hospital's Department of Emergency Medicine. He is also the Emergency Physician on the 912th Forward Resuscitative Surgical Detachment (FRSD) based out of Cranston, Rhode Island.

Major Sarkisian was awarded the U.S. Army Health Professions Scholarship Program scholarship in 2011 and graduated from Touro University in California with a Doctor of Osteopathy degree in 2015. He attended the Emergency Medicine residency program at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center in Fort Hood, Texas. In 2018 he graduated from his residency program as a chief resident. Maj. Sarkisian's first duty assignment after graduation was at Cooper University Hospital as part of the Army Medical Department Trauma Team Training (AMCT3) program.

In 2020 to 2021, he was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq with the 115th Field Hospital as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. In 2021, he was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan with the 274th FRSD and 82nd Airborne Division to assist in the evacuation of Afghan refugees as part of the XVIII Airborne Corps Immediate Response Force (IRF). In 2022 he deployed to Romania with the 240th FRSD for the Russian invasion of Ukraine as part of the XVIII Airborne Corps IRF. Maj. Sarkisian enjoys teaching medical students, residents, and military/diplomatic rotators as well as improving Cooper's disaster medicine and preparedness programs. Maj. Sarkisian has authored/co-authored numerous publications in emergency and military medicine. His interests also include operational/austere medicine, disaster medicine, and emergency preparedness.

Maj. Sarkisian currently serves as the Medical Director of Disaster Medicine in the Division of EMS and Disaster Medicine.

To learn more about Cooper's Center for Disaster and Austere Medicine, visit https://cooperhealth.org/services/disaster-medicine.

Aman Shah, MD, serves as the Associate EMS Medical Director, Associate EMS Fellowship Director and Clinical Faculty of Emergency Medicine at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.  He graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a minor in Spanish Literature.  He attended Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and graduated with Distinction in Service to the Community.  He completed his Emergency Medicine Residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital, during which time he served as chief resident during his fourth year.  Aman completed his Emergency Medical Services Fellowship at Yale University prior to starting at Cooper. 

Dr. Shah started his career in EMS as a volunteer EMT with the Lopatcong Emergency Squad in New Jersey while he was in high school.  He continued his prehospital pursuits as an undergraduate at Penn with the Medical Emergency Response Team, where he served as Captain during his senior year. 

Dr. Shah is incredibly passionate about both prehospital medicine and emergency medicine.  He strives to bridge the gap between the two fields, especially incorporating EM clinical practice to further the field of EMS.