After completing an education in both mechanical engineering (BS, PhD) and anthropology (MA) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA where he studied hominoid mastication and Neandertal weapon use, Michael moved to England where he completed a postdoc in biomedical engineering investigating the biomechanics of a juvenile hip disease. He then moved to Leipzig, Germany where he completed a second postdoc at the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology, again studying hominoid mastication. He is now doing a third postdoc in the Bioengineering department at Imperial College London, where he is studying lower limb biomechanics and working on a project where to provide medical technology and aid to developing countries.