Michael is a New Testament scholar at ACU (Australian Catholic University) with particular interest in Greco-Roman material culture, especially papyri and ancient coinage, for the purposes of illuminating the historical, linguistic, and social setting of early Christianity. He holds a PhD in New Testament from Oxford University (2008) and has completed further studies in several ancient languages (Greek, Latin, Coptic, Hebrew, Ugaritic, and Akkadian). He has written 30 publications to date including three sole-authored books.