Dr. Saeed served as the Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University from 2004 to 2022. During that time, he also served as the Executive Director of Behavioral Health Service Line for ECU Health, a non-profit hospital system made up of eight hospitals, physician practices, home health, hospice, wellness centers and other health care services serving 1.4 million people in 29 counties in Eastern North Carolina. He also serves as the Founding Director of the Center for Telepsychiatry at ECU and as the Founding Executive Director of the North Carolina Statewide Telepsychiatry Program (NC-STeP), a state funded program covering over 60 hospitals and community-based sites across North Carolina. 

A 1982 medical graduate of Dow Medical College, Dr. Saeed completed his residency training in psychiatry at the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute, Chicago. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is also certified in Psychiatric Administration and Management by the American Psychiatric Association and holds a MS degree in Counseling and Psychotherapy. 

Prior to his appointment at East Carolina University, Dr. Saeed served as Professor and Chairman, Department of the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (1995-2004) where he was also the Clinical Director for the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Service NetWork of North Central Illinois, a state-operated Network serving people with serious and persistent mental illness in 23 counties and covering 1.5 million lives in north central Illinois. 

Dr. Saeed was the founding Editor of the American Association of Psychiatric Administrator’s Journal, Psychiatrist Administrator (2000-2010). He served as the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Psychiatric Administration and Management (JPAM) from 2011 to 2019. He serves on the editorial boards of several academic journals. He is a fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists, a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Health, London. He also serves on the Group for Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP), a think-tank for psychiatry dedicated to shaping psychiatric thinking, public programs, and clinical practice in mental health. In 2018 he was elected to the Governing Board of GAP. In 2014 Governor McCrory appointed him to the Governing Board of the North Carolina Institute of Medicine. In 2016, he was reappointed to the board for a 4-year term by the governor. 

With over 100 publications, Dr. Saeed has published extensively in the areas of evidence-based practices; telepsychiatry; psychiatric administration and leadership; and psychiatric treatment integration. He has been involved in funded research both as a principal investigator and co-investigator, with over $25,000,000 in external funding since 2004. He has lectured and presented nationwide and internationally, including being an invited speaker at a White House Convening on telehealth in 2016. In 2019 he was the recipient of the prestigious Gov. Oliver Max Gardner Award, the highest UNC award, selected by the UNC Board of Governors, to recognize UNC system faculty who have “made the greatest contribution to the welfare of the human race.”