Michael Kinch

A second book, Between Hope and Fear (2018), chronicles the development of vaccines, ranging from the discovery of the first vaccine, which is commonly misattributed to Edward Jenner to recent times. This book also details the rise of anti-vaccine movement, which has commonly accompanied high-profile vaccines. Kirkus Reviews called it "a riveting chronicle of one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of medical science." A review in The Wall Street Journal advised that the book "ought to be read by parents and policy makers alike, and its message heeded by all."

His first book, A Prescription for Change, is a popular science book, debuting in 2016, which details the history of drug development throughout history, culminating in the proposition that the rising inefficiency in drug discovery threatens our ability to develop new medicines.

Kinch began an independent research career focused upon cancer biology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana in 1996. Though obtaining tenure in 2000, Kinch left academia in late 2001 to start and lead a cancer biology department at MedImmune, Inc. in Gaithersburg, MD. In 2006, Kinch led research and development at Functional Genetics, Inc., a biotechnology focused upon cancer and infectious diseases, also located in Gaithersburg. In late 2010, Kinch returned to academia, joining Yale University founding and leading the Yale Center for Drug Discovery in West Haven, CT. At that time, he began aggregating information about the sources of innovation and entrepreneurship responsible for the introduction of new medicines, a subject that would later serve as the subject for a series of trade books. In 2016, Kinch moved to Washington University in St Louis, where he founded two centers, the Center for Drug Discovery and the Center for Research Innovation in Biotechnology, and to help lead innovation and entrepreneurship activities.

Michael Scott Kinch (born 1966) is an American academic and author of books on the history of science and medicine. He has helped lead innovation and entrepreneurship activities at Washington University in St Louis since 2014.