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 (both Germany), the Pasteur Institute in Paris (France), the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla/San Diego (U.S.A) and at the Australian National University. He is interested in interferon-induced proteins such as Mx and ADAR and animal models for pathology of flavivirus infections and liver disease. Michael chairs the Committee for Ethics in Animal Experimentation (CEAE) at the University of Canberra and is a Fellow of the Australian Society for Microbiology (FASM). At the University of Canberra, he teaches immunology and microbiology units.

Molecular virology and innate immunity Hepatitis viruses (human hepatitis B, C and D; rabbit calicivirus) Vaccine development and gene delivery