Background
Michael brings over a decade of experience in pharmaceutical sciences, specializing in drug discovery, biomarker development, and small molecule therapeutics, with particular expertise in oncology and infectious diseases. His experience spans all stages of the drug development pipeline, from discovery to clinical validation and commercialization.
Prior to joining Alacrita, Michael led multiple biomarker projects at Boston Children's Hospital, advancing cancer diagnostics from discovery through clinical validation. His work contributed to the development of non-invasive diagnostics with the potential to significantly increase the 5-year survival rate in patients with triple-negative breast cancer and pancreatic cancer. At Harvard Medical School, Michael spearheaded antiviral drug discovery projects, leading collaborations with leading labs, including Nathanael Gray’s at Dana-Farber and Angela Koehler’s at MIT, to advance PROTAC targeted protein degraders to treat Hepatitis B infection and covalent inhibitors to target SARS-CoV-2.
Early in his career, Michael gained expertise in structure-based drug design and drug metabolism under the mentorship of Pfizer’s Drug Metabolism Group in Groton, CT. Michael also has significant clinical experience, having served as a clinical pharmacist in critical care, oncology, and medical/surgical units where he contributed to optimized patient care, improving clinical outcomes through medication therapy management and pharmaceutical services. His scientific and clinical work has contributed to 16 publications, 1 patent, and presentations at 9 international conferences.
Michael holds a PharmD and PhD from the University of Connecticut, completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, and received postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School.
