Michaels graduated from the City College of New York, and holds a Master in Public Health (MPH) and a PhD from Columbia University.

Michaels served as the United States Department of Energy's Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety, and Health from 1998 through January 2001.

In this position, he had primary responsibility for protecting the health and safety of workers, the neighboring communities and the environment surrounding the nation's nuclear weapons facilities.

[2] Michaels has written extensively on issues related to the integrity of scientific information that serves as the basis of public health and environmental regulation.

In his review in Science, Carl F. Cranor asks "Ever wonder why it has been so slow and difficult to reduce the health risks from tobacco, secondhand smoke, lead, beryllium, or chromium?