Michael is currently a PhD Candidate at the School of Culture History and Language. His research focuses on the political-economic implications of the tea industry in northern Shan State, Myanmar; he is particularly interested in tea's historical role as a tributary good and the practice of tea-eating in mainland Southeast Asia.

Prior to his time at ANU, Michael was a social science instructor at the Parami Institute in Yangon, Myanmar, where he led three undergraduate research teams on topics related to political and economic anthropology.

As a masters student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Michael's research aimed to understand the material and ideological implications of the Lao-Soviet educational exchange program, for which he conducted three months of fieldwork in Vientiane, Laos.

For a detailed CV and list of publications, please see his personal website.