Michael trained as a veterinarian at the University of Queensland and spent the first five years of his career as a field veterinary officer employed by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI) in Townsville. During this period he was involved in disease eradication (TB and brucellosis), export and disease control activities, and he also complete a Master of Science degree at James Cook University on the topic of bluetongue virus in cattle. Michael then completed Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and PhD degrees at the University of California, Davis, also on the topic of bluetongue virus epidemiology. He returned to Australia and continued work as a Research Scientist with the QDPI in Toowoomba and Brisbane.

Michael again left Australia in July, 2000, to take up a position at the Purdue University Veterinary School and settled in West Lafayette, Indiana. In 2004, he moved to the Texas A&M University Veterinary School. In 2007 Michael applied for the newly created position of Chair, Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety at the University of Sydney, a position he continues to hold.

Michael's real passion is in infectious disease epidemiology, disease mapping and spatial analysis, and disease spread modelling. In 2024 Michael successfully applied for an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship. This is the pinnacle of competitive research funding for an individual in Australia, an unique achievement for a veterinarian employed in an Australian veterinary school. This 5-year, $5 million program will focus on the wild-domestic interface and how this influences the risk of disease spillover. Together with a team of three postdoctoral research associates and three PhD students, Michael’s goal is to develop a mechanistic understanding of the wild-domestic animal interface and how that drives disease spillover risk. This has great relevance to food production, animal welfare, environmental sustainability and ecosystems, and pandemic preparedness.