After years leading infectious disease surveillance and outbreak investigations at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Faisal Minhaj, PharmD, MPH, DABAT, has joined the UCSF School of Pharmacy to lead the California Poison Control System (CPCS), where he sees a unique opportunity to advance public health through research, statewide collaboration, and patient care.

Minhaj became executive director of CPCS on July 1, bringing expertise in toxicology, emergency medicine, epidemiology, and public health. Most recently at the CDC, he led the poxvirus epidemiology team and special studies unit that directed investigations of severe and complex mpox cases, developing surveillance systems, and leading research initiatives.

What drew him to UCSF, he said, was California's uniquely coordinated poison control system.

"In my work at CDC, we worked to coordinate with over 50 jurisdictions reporting data in over 50 different ways,” Faisal said. "California’s is one of the only poison control systems in the United States that has a unified system, with all four divisions under a single umbrella and reporting data in the same manner, which creates exciting coordination and growth opportunities."

A statewide public health resource

Each year, CPCS responds to more than 230,000 calls from across California, helping families, clinicians, and first responders manage poison exposures while providing an early warning system for emerging public health threats.

"I believe poison centers are, at their core, a critical public health function," Minhaj said, referencing California’s largest poisonous wild mushroom outbreak in decades as an example of CPCS's central role in early detection and close collaboration with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

"In times of crisis, [poison control centers] are the first ones to really detect changes and increases in real time,” he said. “We can report that to whoever needs to know, so the right people are being informed and can respond."

Minhaj said he hopes to build on that role by strengthening partnerships with CDPH and expanding CPCS's contributions to statewide surveillance and emergency response.

Just as important, Minhaj said, is ensuring equitable access to care. CPCS’ free, confidential, and multilingual assistance is available 24 hours a day at no cost. Call centers in Fresno/Madera, Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Diego often help patients safely manage poison exposures at home, avoiding unnecessary emergency department visits.

“Poison centers are great at providing a service that doesn't discriminate based on who you are or how much you make," Minhaj said. “It’s health care that’s accessible to everyone who has access to a phone.”

Using data to improve care

Minhaj said he was also drawn to CPCS by the sheer volume of clinical data the call centers generate.

"We don't gather data just to have it sit there," he said. "The point is to assess trends, quickly analyze them, and respond in as close to real time as possible."

Earlier in his career, Minhaj helped analyze national poison center data after noticing repeated calls involving young children who accidentally ingested lithium medication. The study found that many of those children could be safely monitored at home rather than referred to emergency departments.  

He experienced firsthand how poison center data can reduce unnecessary emergency department visits while improving care and lowering health care costs, something he hopes his leadership will continue for both short-term emergencies and with longer-term improvements to health care systems in California and beyond.

Leveraging research and collaboration

For Minhaj, one of the most exciting aspects of joining UCSF is the opportunity to collaborate across the School of Pharmacy. He said he wants to continue to invigorate CPCS as a valuable research partner for faculty studying drug safety, health outcomes, infectious diseases, pharmacology, and other areas.

"Poison centers are this little gem," Minhaj said. "There's so much expertise at the School of Pharmacy, with researchers working in areas where we may be able to help answer their questions with the data we have, and they may have new information that helps us answer our questions."