The Anti-Doping Podcast

In this episode, Dr.  Cornelia  Blank and Dr. David Müller discuss a newly launched collaborative research project they are leading that is examining the experiences and perspectives of sanctioned athletes as well as clean athletes. The project is called Transforming Athletes' Life Experiences after Doping into Education Resources and Policy Recommendations (TALE), and you can learn more at  https...

Anders Solheim is CEO of Anti-Doping Norway, and he was recently elected as the Chair of the Board of the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organisations (iNADO). In this episode, Anders talks more about his career, his work as part of iNADO, landmark accomplishments for clean sport in Norway over the years, how the organization supports anti-doping research, current challenges in anti-doping, Ant...

Dr. Amy Eichner is the Special Advisor on Drugs and Supplements at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). In this episode, she discusses risks and considerations for athletes who are thinking about taking dietary supplements, and work that USADA is doing to help reduce supplement-related risks for athletes. Dr. Eichner also covers research chemicals, some of the novel substances that are relevant in...

Brian Ahrens is Director of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory in Los Angeles. In this episode Brian shares insights from more than three decades working in a WADA-accredited anti-doping laboratory, details on their daily operations, research and development efforts they are working on now, areas of opportunity in anti-doping research, and their preparations for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic...

Kim Højgaard Ravn is Chief Executive Officer of Anti Doping Denmark, and he has worked for the organization for over ten years, serving in a variety of roles to advance clean sport. In our interview, Kim talks about his career, how the anti-doping landscape has evolved over the past decade, and the organization's commitment to clean sport and supporting anti-doping science. Kim discusses the work...

Dr. Henrique  Marcelo Gualberto Pereira is Director of the Brazilian Doping Control Laboratory and Professor in the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.  Henrique  is also President of the World Association of Anti-Doping Scientists (WAADS).  In our conversation, we talk about his background, the Brazilian Doping Control Laboratory, and the role of WAADS...

As a follow-up to our previous episode focused on innovative Blood Collection Devices from Tasso, Inc., Dr. Matthew  Fedoruk  joins us to discuss how Tasso's blood collection devices are being used in anti-doping and the state of the science of what we can detect with these devices for anti-doping purposes. He covers important benefits of these devices, current limitations, and some of the key mil...

Collecting blood samples is critical in anti-doping testing and a variety of clinical applications such as diagnostics and disease monitoring. However, traditional blood testing approaches can be a major pain point for athletes, sport organizations, patients, and their care teams.  Tasso, Inc. is a  company developing innovative products to improve the user experience surrounding blood collection....

Dr. Martin Bidlingmaier is Head of the Endocrine Laboratory, and he leads the Neuroendocrine Research Group in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. Martin conducts clinical and basic research, particularly focusing on the development and validation of laboratory methods to diagnose and monitor pituitary and adrenal hormones, physiology, pathophysiolog...

Nick Paterson is Chief Executive of Drug Free Sport New Zealand, which will soon become part of a new Integrity Sport and Recreation Commission in New Zealand. He is also Governing Board Chair for the Institute of Anti-Doping Organisations (iNADO). In this episode, Nick talks more about Drug Free Sport New Zealand, including the organization's history, the resources and services they provide, and...

To wrap up our celebration this year of the 15th anniversary of the Partnership for Clean Competition, this episode features two guests from Major League Baseball (MLB), one of the PCC's Founding Partner Organizations. Jon Coyles, JD, is Vice President of Drug, Health and Safety Programs, and Gary Green, MD, is Medical Director of MLB. In addition, Jon is a member of the PCC's Board of Governors,...

Dr. Mike Sawka is Chief Scientific Officer at Environmental Physiology and Hydration Associates, an Adjunct Professor at Georgia Tech, and a Member of the PCC's Scientific Advisory Board and the Performance Hematology Working Group. He is also a Fellow of the American Physiological Society (APS). Today, we're excited to talk about Mike's career, his work with the PCC over the years, and his involv...

Adolpho   Birch  III is currently the Chief External & League Affairs Officer for the Tennessee Titans football team. Previously, he spent more than two decades working for the National Football League (NFL) in various roles. The NFL is one of the Founding Members of the Partnership for Clean Competition, and  Adolpho  is one of the PCC's Emeritus Board of Governors Members. In this episode,  Adol...

Kacie  Wallace is an attorney and the Team USA Athlete Ombuds. The Office of the Athlete Ombuds provides a safe place for athletes to seek confidential, independent, impartial advice, and assistance with sport related matters. In this episode,  Kacie  talks more about the Office of the Athlete Ombuds, the resources and services they provide, her career path, her role in clean sport, and her work a...

Francesco Loria is a Ph. D. student in biomedical science at the Swiss Laboratory for Doping Analysis in Lausanne and the University of Geneva. In this episode, we hear more about Francesco's career, his research on the potential for reticulocyte-related RNA to be used as biomarkers to detect blood doping, and his receipt of one of this year's PCC-sponsored Anti-doping Predoctoral Awards in partne...

Dr. Frank Wojan recently completed his PhD in Clinical Physiology at The University of Texas at Austin, and he is currently a Senior Clinical Project Manager with Pluto Health. In this episode, Frank discusses his career path, his research on the effects of intermittent hypoxia on erythropoiesis, and the project that led to his receipt of one of this year's PCC-sponsored Anti-doping Predoctoral Aw...

Dr. Peter Van  Eenoo  is Professor in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences and Director of the Doping Control Laboratory (DoCoLab) at Ghent University in Belgium. In this episode, we are excited to talk more about Peter, his research and routine work at the DoCo Lab, the history of the lab, and some of their groundbreaking discoveries over the years as they celebrate their 50th anniversary this y...

Dr. Jenna  Goodrum  is a Partnership for Clean Competition Fellow and Research Scientist working in the Sports Medicine Research Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) in Utah. In this podcast episode, we're excited to discuss Jenna's career path, her work at SMRTL, her experience as a PCC fellow, and the  details  of her PCC-funded research project examining biotin as a masking agent for abuse of the hormone...

David  Howman  is Chair of the Board of Directors at the Athletics Integrity Unit for World Athletics, and he has been named Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to sport. In this episode, we discuss the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in more detail, covering the founding of the organization,  how  it has changed over the years, the educational programs and resources they p...

Donald Hooton, Jr., is President of the Taylor Hooton Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing and promoting education programs for young athletes. Pressure to use performance-enhancing and appearance-enhancing substances can be high for students and young athletes, and the Taylor Hooton Foundation fills a critical gap by providing education and a forum for candid discussion o...

Dr. Naomi Spears is the former Chief Science Officer and current General Manager of Operations at Sport Integrity Australia,  Australia's designated national anti-doping organization (NADO). In our interview, we talk more about Sport Integrity Australia, the history of the organization, the details of their anti-doping program, how they are incorporating dried blood spot testing into their anti-do...

Tim Brown is a New York Times bestselling author and an award-winning national sports columnist covering Major League Baseball (MLB). In this episode, Tim talks about his career and gives us a behind-the-scenes view into some of the biggest stories in MLB's recent history, including the Balco scandal, the Mitchell report, and the Biogenesis scandal. He discusses some of the major changes that MLB...

Madison Chock and Evan Bates are an elite ice dancing team with numerous accolades, including being the 2023 World Champions and three-time Olympians. They were part of the Beijing 2022 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team that has been caught up in what is now more than a year-long saga still awaiting their medals as a result of a competitor's positive drug test. In this episode, Madison and Evan sha...

Mike Earl is Director of Anti-Doping and Game Equipment at World Rugby. In this episode, we talk more about Mike's career in anti-doping, the components of World Rugby's Anti-Doping programme, current challenges, key partnerships, and focus areas for the organization going forward.

Dr. Christophe Stove is a faculty member in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Director of the Laboratory of Toxicology at Ghent University. In this interview, he shares more about his career and his research on blood microsampling for anti-doping, including advances in microsampling approaches and strategies for addressing the hematocrit effect in dried blood samples.