Michael is a PhD Candidate in Epidemiology at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. His primary appointment is in the Department of Epidemiology, where he works with Dr. Viola Vaccarino as his advisor. Prior to his appointment at Emory, he completed a fellowship at the National Institute on Aging/National Institutes of Health, where he investigated the sociodemographic and socioeconomic influences of age-related health disparities and cognitive function, separately or synergistically, as co-factors of behavioral, cardiovascular, biomarker (including genetic), and psychosocial conditions. He received his Master's in Public Health from Yale University, where he investigated psychological resilience in U.S. veterans. He holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from Binghamton University and a second degree in psychology from Jefferson Community College. 

Michael’s research interests are in neuro-psychiatric epidemiology and prevention, with emphasis on social and behavioral determinants of cardiovascular disease and health inequalities. A focus of his research is the role of emotional factors, psychological stress, and psychiatric morbidities on Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (including subjective cognitive decline), along with the interplay between psychological and biological factors on Alzheimer's Disease and related dementia. His approach emphasizes the utilization of state-of-the-art statistical methods, along with longitudinal (prospective and retrospective) and cross-sectional study designs, that have both public health and clinical utility. Michael has published over 20 research publications and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Medicine, Surgery, and Public Health.