His main interests are in the prevention, detection and management of hypertension and its complications of the heart, brain, kidneys and the circulation. His research interests are the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease, nutrition and health, metabolic abnormalities and cardiovascular risk, risk in ethnic minorities, both in developed and developing countries.

Franco heads up a multi-disciplinary research group with a number of research objectives: to develop and establish a programme of national and international cardiovascular epidemiology, to develop and establish a significant national and international programme of research into Sleep, Health and Society, to facilitate clinical research into sleep disorders, to assist the development of undergraduate and postgraduate education into sleep medicine and its impact on health and society.