Michael is a biochemist who studied Biochemistry at Bath University, during this time he spent time at the University of Michigan (USA) and Duke University (USA) for six-month placements. After his studies, he worked for a year as a formulations technician at the vaccine company: PowderMed in Oxford. He returned to his studies for a DPhil (PhD) in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics (DPAG) at the University of Oxford. His PhD work was on the application of novel magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy tools to better characterize metabolic alterations that occur during heart disease. Developing this further, he undertook a 2-year post-doc sponsored by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to investigate the translation of his PhD work into human volunteers in the Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research. In 2014, Michael was awarded a Novo Nordisk Fellowship, to investigate the effects of fatty acids on the heart's ability to adapt to hypoxia. In 2018, Michael moved to Coventry University to continue his research into cellular adaptation to hypoxia during Diabetes. This includes how diabetic kidney cells respond to hypoxia and if GLP1 agonists can rescue cells.

Michael's research involves examining the metabolism of the failing and diseased heart. The healthy heart derives 60-80% of its energy from the burning of fat, the rest from carbohydrates and ketones. During heart disease, this carefully balanced use of fuel can become breakdown. Understanding why this is the case and how to prevent the deterioration of this metabolic balance may provide clues on how to better treat heart disease. Michael’s current research is supported by a Diabetes UK Early Career Small Research Grant.