After receiving his medical doctorate in India, he completed his internship, surgical residency and served as a senior registrar in the United Kingdom as well as in Edinborough, Scotland.  He then completed a surgical fellowship in Chicago, Illinois before moving to Washington, D.C. to train in radiation with Dr. Erlich Henschcke, an early pioneer in the field of brachytherapy.

As an Assistant Professor at USC Medical School, Dr. Syed developed a number of revolutionary brachytherapy procedures for prostate, breast, rectum, and cervical cancer. These procedures have become the international standard of care in the use of brachytherapy treatments.

He has devoted much of his time to the training of physicians around the world, as well as the training of residents from USC, UC Irvine, UCLA, Loma Linda University, Stanford and many other schools of medicine.

Dr. Syed is the Founder of the American Brachytherapy Society (formerly the American Endocurietherapy Society) and has served as its Secretary, Program Chair, Lecturer and President. He is the Founding Editor-in-Chief for the “Journal of Brachytherapy International.”

He currently holds six academic appointments including three Clinical Professorships in the Departments of Radiation Oncology at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, University of California Irvine School of Medicine and the Los Angeles County – Martin Luther King Jr. – Drew Medical Center. He has published more than 50 scientific publications and has given more than 100 formal presentations related to scientific research data.

Dr. Syed has also served as the Chancellor and Vice-Chair of the American College of Radiation Oncology and as Chairman of the Radiation Oncology Committee of the Indo-American Cancer Society.
Dr. Syed retains memberships in numerous oncologic societies.
He is on the medical staff at Orange Coast Memorial, Long Beach Memorial, and Saddleback Memorial Hospitals.