Michael is a seasoned translational medicine expert with over 15 years of experience in academic and industry settings.
Michael received his medical training in Oxford, Newcastle and London UK where he specialized in Endocrinology and Diabetes. His postgraduate research in pancreatic islet biology, defined the enzymes responsible for the processing of islet amyloid polypeptide (amylin). Subsequently, he developed an interest in the neuroendocrine control of appetite. This was furthered by postdoctoral research at Harvard, USA where, his work identified fibroblast growth factor 21 as a key metabolic regulator.
In 2012 Michael joined the New Indication Discovery Unit in Translational Medicine at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR). As the medical lead for the NIBR Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist program he was responsible for designing and implementing Phase 1, Phase 2 (Proof of Concept) and non-interventional biomarker studies in rare and new indications including, cholestatic liver disease, bile acid diarrhea and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Michael has a continued interest in “white space” areas. He concentrates on the application of new pharmaceutical innovations to probe indications that are underserved by clinical research, while offering potential to ameliorate clinical need.