Alan attended medical school at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Following this, he trained in internal medicine and general cardiology. Concurrently, he undertook Master’s studies in Clinical Pharmacology and fostered an interest in understanding the genetic basis of cardiac arrhythmias. His current research is focused on understanding how GWAS findings associated with atrial fibrillation lead to the arrhythmia. Alan also works on the genetic basis of inherited cardiomyopathy and sudden death.