Michael graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a B.Sc. in Chemistry in 2014, where he majored in organic, inorganic, physical and analytical chemistry. His dissertation was based on a molecular modelling project designing spin traps: molecules able to catch and hold free radicals.
Following this, he took a job in quality assurance and soon became QA manager for all chemical and electronic products distributed by the company. However, after two years in this role, Michael missed performing real research and decided to pursue his dream of achieving a Ph.D.
He went on attended the University of Salford and completed his M.Sc. in Drug Design and Discovery, gaining a distinction and being awarded 96% for his project dissertation “Synthesis of Gold Nanostars for Biomedical Applications”.
Michael then applied for and was accepted on to a Ph.D. working with the same supervisor as his Masters project, which is presently ongoing.
The focus of the Ph.D. project is the design and production of gold nanoparticles able to act as multimodal anticancer agents, being both drug delivery platforms and radiation dose enhancers.
The end goal of the project is to improve the efficacy of current cancer treatments and improve outcomes for patients in terms of unwanted side effects.
Within the first year of his Ph.D. Michael was a prize winner at the annual symposium for the School of Environment and Life Sciences, at the University of Salford, in addition to being a university finalist of the ‘three-minute thesis’ contest and a ‘researcher showcase’ speaker at the Salford post graduate annual conference.
In his spare time, Michael likes to keep up to date with developments in other areas of science. He is also interested in robotics and computing and is currently building and programming a walking voice-controlled robot from scratch. He enjoys reading, weight lifting, and walking his black Labrador.