Dr. Takahashi received his MD from Oita University, Japan in 1988 and undertook Internal Medicine and Physiology training at Oita between 1988 and 1993. Following obtaining his PhD, he transferred to Mayo Clinic, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and Pharmacology between 1993-1994. He is presently Chair in Department of Cardiology and Clinical Examination at the Oita University. He is Associate Editor of Circulation Journal, Journal of Cardiology, and International Heart Journal. His research focuses on mechanisms of atrial fibrillation, particularly inflammatory atrial fibrosis. He also researches risk stratification of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation, including Brugada syndrome and early repolarization syndrome. He has supervised over 30 research trainees and published over 180 papers in peer-review journal.