Dr. Michael Painter serves as a Managing Director on the Healthcare Practice Team at McAllister &
Quinn, providing strategic grant consulting and proposal development support to healthcare and
medical research clients seeking federal and foundation funding. Drawing on his background as a
trained scientist and former principal investigator, Michael brings a distinctive dual perspective to his
consulting work, combining fluency in the scientific and biomedical research landscape with deep
expertise in federal grant strategy, proposal architecture, and institutional positioning. Throughout his
career, he has supported over 200 federal and foundation submissions, working with clients across a
diverse range of institutions and funding agencies including NIH, NSF, USDA, DoD, and NASA.
Prior to joining McAllister & Quinn, Michael served as a Grants Consultant at Hanover Research,
supporting a broad portfolio of federal and foundation grant projects for academic, research, and
healthcare clients. Before transitioning to consulting, he was a faculty member in the Biology
Department at Barry University in Miami, FL, directing a research lab focused on the neural and
biophysical mechanisms mediating magnetic sensing in vertebrates. Earlier in his career, Michael
completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Czech University of Life Sciences, leading a multinational
research group.
Dr. Painter has an extensive publication record in the fields of neurobiology, spatial cognition, sensory
ecology, and animal behavior, and has contributed chapters to several edited volumes in these areas.
His research has appeared in high-impact journals including Proceedings of the Royal Society B, PLoS
ONE, Scientific Reports, Animal Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution, and others.
Michael earned his Ph.D. in Neuroethology and Sensory Biology and his B.S. in Biological Sciences, both
from Virginia Tech.