Dr. El-Sayed was executive director of the Detroit Health Department and Health Officer for the City of Detroit from 2015 to 2017. He was also formerly an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Columbia University. He is a political contributor at CNN, the author of Healing Politics: A Doctor's Journey into the Heart of Our Political Epidemic. He is also the host of American Dissected with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a podcast about politics and public health.