Mike is a native of New York City to which he attributes much of his initial creative influence. Growing up blocks away from beacons of culture, such as Lincoln Center, exposed him to the arts early on. A type 1 diabetic, diagnosed at age 9, Mike always felt drawn to the medical field, however, was steered toward the arts and away from the sciences which did not come as naturally to him. He went on to study studio art and neuropsychology at Skidmore College where he first began to recognize the parallels between art and science and is also where he gained the academic confidence to realize his dream of becoming a physician. Mike graduated from Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia in 2017, and is an attending at New York University Hospital.