Michael is a post-doctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, jointly appointed by the Berlin Center for the History of Knowledge. He graduated from University College London with a PhD in the History of Medicine, and also holds a clinical degree in Chinese medicine. Michael investigates therapeutic diversity in early medieval China (220-589 CE), and also serves as the treasurer for IASTAM, the International Association for the Study of Traditional Asian Medicine, the foremost practitioner/scholar organisation for studying medical traditions across Asia.