Michael holds a PhD in virology and has studied viruses and the innate immune response to virus infections in leading laboratories around the world, e.g. at the Universities of Freiburg and Heidelberg (Germany), the Pasteur Institute in Paris (France), the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla/San Diego (U.S.A), at the Australian National University and Australia's CSIRO. He is interested in interferon-induced proteins, animal models for viral diseases and the replication of RNA viruses (e.g. flavi- and caliciviruses). At the University of Canberra, he teaches immunology and microbiology and chaired the Committee for Ethics in Animal Experimentation. More recently, Michael has published a series of paper in paleontology (in collaboration with CSIRO and/or the Australian Museum, Sydeny).

Research Interests: 

• Molecular virology and innate immunity
• Hepatitis viruses (HBV, HCV and HDV; rabbit caliciviruses)
• Vaccine development and gene delivery
• Bee microbiome
• Systematic reviews and meta-analysis
• Palaeontology