Alan has been directly involved in developing new businesses and partnerships from cross disciplinary innovation projects since 2005. He has worked with a diverse range of public research organisations and industrial partners, bringing them together to fast track the commercialisation of new products on the global healthcare markets. Alan has designed and delivered coaching and mentoring programs for universities across Europe, working with management from Rector to researcher to embed entrepreneurial attitude at the heart of these organisations and accelerate the commercialisation of Intellectual Property. Most recently, Alan has been coaching startup teams,  promoting lean working methods and tools to help them develop robust business plans and pitch them to investors.

As a researcher he has designed sensors for automotive use and life-support systems which are used in aircraft and in anaesthetic trolleys across the world. Development of a micro-miniature acidity sensor for the British Library earned him a PhD in chemistry in 2000 from The Queen’s University of Belfast. He also holds a Diploma in Applied Medical Physics from the Dublin Institute of Technology in Ireland