Gary K. Michelson (born January 14, 1949) is an American orthopedic surgeon, medical inventor, and billionaire philanthropist.

Early life and education

Michelson and his three brothers were raised in Philadelphia by his mother and grandmother, whose struggles with syringomyelia inspired his interest in spinal ailments. After graduating Central High School of Philadelphia in 1966, he attended Temple University and Hahnemann Medical College of Drexel University, until finishing his medical residency in orthopedic surgery at Hahnemann Medical Hospital in 1979. Michelson then completed his fellowship training in spinal surgery at St. Luke's Medical Center, in a joint program between Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas. He was a practicing spinal surgeon for over 25 years before retiring from private practice in 2001 to focus on philanthropy.

Medical innovations & related legal battles

Seeing the low success rates associated with spinal surgery procedures early in his career, Michelson developed new implants, instruments and procedures for spinal surgery. These technologies, often recognized in the medical profession as "Michelson Devices", assist in surgical procedures by decreasing blood loss, incision size, and addressing other critical factors. Michelson is the sole credited inventor on over 950 issued or pending patents worldwide related to the treatment of spinal disorders. In 2005, Michelson sold many of his spine-related patents to Medtronic for $1.35 billion, placing him on the Forbes 400 list. A legal battle with Medtronic over the origins of the patents preceded the sale. In 2004, Michelson cross-filed in response to Medtronic's 2001 suit, and was awarded financial damages for both lawsuits by the jury. The legal defense against Medtronic's suit established a major legal precedent in 2004, governing who bears the cost of pre-trial discovery of electronic evidence.

Philanthropy

The Gary Karlin Michelson, M.D. Charitable Foundation, Inc. was founded in 1995 through a $100 million contribution from Dr. Michelson (it was later renamed the Michelson Medical Research Foundation in 2005). The nonprofit does not accept donations.

Michelson Center for Public Policy

The Michelson Center for Public Policy endorsed a 2021 bill from U.S. representative for Florida's 16th congressional district Vern Buchanan to end an FDA requirement that animal testing be used to determine a drug's efficacy on humans.

Michelson Found Animals Foundation

In 2005, Michelson launched the Found Animals Foundation, a 501(c)(3) private operating foundation dedicated to animal welfare. In response to Hurricane Katrina, the foundation created the Found Animals Registry, the first free national pet microchipping registry. Found Animals also performs surveys of pet owners, to study industry trends and owner/pet relationships. In 2008, the foundation launched the Michelson Prize and Grants in Reproductive Biology, a $75 million initiative to create a safe and effective single-dose, non-surgical spay/neuter method for cats and dogs. The program includes the $25 million Michelson Prize, and an additional $50 million provided by Michelson to fund medical research in support of the prize. To date, the program has awarded 41 grants, including a gene therapy approach that could keep potentially keep felines kitten-free for almost two years. In 2020, the foundation launched the Better Neighbor Project to support low income and homeless pet owners with food and veterinary services. In 2021, the Found Animals Registry was acquired by Pethealth Inc. (a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial). The foundation is also on the board of the Best Friends Animal Society's No-Kill Los Angeles initiative. For World Spay Day 2024, the foundation donated $1 million to Community Animal Medicine Project clinics in Southern California. In October 2024, recognized for his work in animal welfare, Michelson was among the group of honorees at the Malibu Sunset Soirée For Animals event. In the same month, the Community Animal Medicine Project (CAMP) hosted the Pet Gala where Los Angeles Mayor, Karen Bass, presented the Michelson's with the Pioneer Award. The Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative, launched by Michelson Found Animals and the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), aims to educate and advocate for legislation that removes barriers for pet owners in housing.

Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property

Dr. Michelson was a contributing author to the free 2016 textbook The Intangible Advantage: Understanding Intellectual Property in the New Economy, written for non-lawyers and undergraduate students to better understand patents, copyrights, and trademarks. In 2016, the new Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property was formed, to provide free intellectual property-related educational resources.

Michelson Medical Research Foundation

Formed in 2005, the Michelson Medical Research Foundation aims to promote innovation in medicine and science. Its initiatives include the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, and the California Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy at the new UCLA Research Park, announced in January 2024. In 2017, Michelson and his wife Alya launched the Michelson Prize, to support medically relevant research by scientists under the age of 36. The 2020 Michelson Prizes were awarded to Danika Hill, research fellow at Australia's Monash University, and Michael Birnbaum, assistant professor at MIT. In 2024 through the Michelson Medical Research Foundation, the Michelson's gifted $120 million to help with the launch of the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy which will be located in UCLA's Research Park.

Michelson Neglected Disease Initiative

In 2013, he became a principal supporter of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, giving birth to the Michelson Neglected Disease Vaccine Initiative to provide access to affordable treatments for tropical diseases.

Michelson 20MM Foundation

In 2011, Michelson created the Twenty Million Minds Foundation (named for the number of students enrolled in higher education in the United States), to make college more affordable by underwriting a library of free online textbooks. In 2016, Michelson publicly released a variety of intellectual property tools through the organization. The Spark Grants platform was launched by 20MM in March 2019, designed to truncate the lengthy grant-funding process. The foundation partnered with California for the first California Digital Divide Challenge in 2020, offering a $1 million prize for the best proposal to expand broadband access in the state. The Michelson 20MM Foundation has been a leading force in closing the digital divide through convenings and energetic advocacy. It brought together national leaders from government, industry, NGOs, academia for a series of high-level meetings and commissioned research that ultimately resulted in the FCC adopting new rules to eliminate discrimination in access to internet services.

Legislative

Since 2017, Michelson has funded and successfully advanced various pieces of legislation. Those include:

Personal life

Michelson lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Alya, and their three children. In the December 2015 issue of Forbes magazine, Michelson was featured as one of "10 People with Big Ideas to Change the World".

Published works

Academic books

Selected articles

Awards and honors