The Anti-Doping Podcast

Channing Cash is an accomplished Team USA Paracanoe Athlete, and she tells us the incredible series of events that led to her becoming a professional athlete. We cover her early childhood in a small village in Laos, the many struggles she has overcome, constructive ways to cope with roadblocks in performance, her experiences with anti-doping education and testing programs as an athlete, challenges...

Dr. Richard Holt is Professor in Diabetes and Endocrinology within Medicine at the University of Southampton. In our interview, he discusses what growth hormone is, its normal physiological functions, the mechanisms through which it may enhance athletic performance, potential side effects and dangers of doping with growth hormone, challenges in detecting growth hormone abuse, the history of growth...

Danielle Moncrieffe, MD is a Research Associate and Partnership for Clean Competition Research Fellow at the Drug Control Centre at King's College London. She has been developing novel liquid chromatography methods to detect growth hormone doping by quantifying the biomarker procollagen III amino-terminal propeptide ( P-III-NP). Danielle explains what P-III-NP is, its clinical relevance, and its r...

Dr.  Mario   Thevis  is Vice President of Research, Professor, and Head of  the  Centre for Preventive Doping Research at  the  German Sport University of Cologne. He is also Director of  the  European Monitoring Center for Emerging Doping Agents, a forensic chemist, Editor-in-Chief of Drug Testing & Analysis, and a PCC scientist. He discusses challenges detecting microdosing of prohibited substan...

Dr. Tessa Muir, B.V.Sc., is the former Anti-Doping Manager at British Horseracing Authority. She is an equine veterinarian, a Veterinary Officer with the British Army, and a Regulatory Veterinarian at Racing Victoria. She discusses current doping issues, recent doping cases, and key anti-doping programs and strategies to detect, deter, and prevent doping in horseracing. Tessa also shares important...

Dr. Nicolas Voelcker is Scientific Director of the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, Professor at Monash University, and Science Leader at the CSIRO. He shares how applying his expertise in nanomaterials to anti-doping allowed him to work on exciting research projects and take advantage of great funding opportunities. He also describes the anti-doping testing applications of a porous silicon n...

Dr. Steve  Elliott is a former Scientific Executive Director at Amgen, an expert on the process of creating new red blood cells (i.e. erythropoiesis), and a champion of anti-doping. He dives into what erythropoietin (EPO) is, how it's made in the body, the impacts of not having enough EPO, and how EPO abuse can enhance athletic performance. We also cover tests developed to detect EPO and recombina...

Bonnie Ford is a senior writer for ESPN.com who has over two decades of experience covering sports and anti-doping. She shares challenges associated with making anti-doping stories interesting and accessible for general audiences as well as the pressures and stresses of sports journalism. Bonnie also discusses guidelines for responsible journalism when covering sensitive anti-doping cases, potenti...

Jim Scherr is the former CEO of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and he is the inaugural CEO of World Lacrosse. In this interview, he talks about the history of the sport of lacrosse, current and long-term goals for World Lacrosse, lacrosse anti-doping and athlete education programs, anti-doping challenges associated with being a growing sport, his experiences as an Olympic and World Cha...

Dr. Jim Dalton is Dean and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Michigan. He breaks down what exactly selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) are, how they work, and how they are being used for both therapeutic and doping purposes. He also talks about barriers to getting FDA approval of SARMs, issues with supplements containing SARM contaminan...

Dr. Daniel Eichner is President and Director of the Sports Medicine Research & Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) in Salt Lake City. He discusses the benefits and limitations of using dried blood spot sampling and sample collection via exhaled breath and oral fluids, as well as recent field trials with these technologies. He also shares his experiences running a WADA-accredited lab that does research and...

Matt is a Doping Control Officer (DCO) with Drug Free Sport international, and he shares a candid account of what it's like to be a DCO. He discusses unexpected occurrences during doping control missions, the behind-the-scenes roles and responsibilities of DCOs working in the field, the rigorous training process required to become a DCO, the variety of challenges he faces in collecting and protect...

Dr. Kelsey Erickson is the SafeSport Director at USA Cycling and an expert on the psychology of doping and whistleblowing. She discusses the process of reporting misconduct in sport through the SafeSport program, evidence-based doping education, how the people and the environment surrounding athletes impact athletes' behavior, the bystander effect, using research to inform policies and platforms f...

Yuliya Stepanova is an elite runner who specializes in the 800m track event, and Vitaly Stepanov is a former employee of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. Both served as whistleblowers helping to expose doping and related issues in sport in Russia. They discuss their firsthand experiences being an athlete and working within a system that supported doping in sport, the challenges and consequences of...

Nikolai is Associate Professor and Head of the Integrative Physiology Section within the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports at the University of Copenhagen. He shares his cutting-edge research on autologous blood transfusion that shows that even small amounts of blood (i.e. 1/2 bag) enhance performance. He also discusses biomarkers for blood doping, dried blood spot tests for testosteron...

Tracey Holmes is a senior reporter/presenter at the Australian Broadcast Corporation's News Channel, and she presents a weekly program called The Ticket that gives a deep dive into various sports topics. In this episode, she shares the facts surrounding the clash between swimmers Mack Horton and Sun Yang, doping allegations against Australian swimmer Shayna Jack, issues in sport governance, challe...

Ian Smith is Esports Integrity Commissioner at The Esports Integrity Coalition and owner of Sports Integrity Matters. Michele Verroken is Founding Director of Sporting Integrity and Director and Anti-Doping Adviser at The Esports Integrity Coalition. They cover issues related to corruption, betting, match fixing, and doping in esports (e.g. Adderall and marijuana). We also discuss differences in a...

Adam Woullard is a leading sports communication and PR expert, as well as the Director of Communications for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Adam shares how USADA is working with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to administer anti-doping programs and ensure clean competition. He also discusses the recent expansion of the UFC's anti-doping program, how he got involved in the anti-dopin...

Beckie Scott is Canada's most decorated cross-country skier, CEO of the sport for development organization Spirit North, and Chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Athlete Committee. In this episode, Beckie talks about the early experiences that sparked her passion for cross-country skiing, being upgraded from a bronze to a gold Olympic medal due to doping competitors, the WADA Anti-Doping C...

Rob Koehler is currently Director General of a new organization called Global Athlete, and he formerly served as the World Anti-Doping Agency Deputy Director General. He talks about how Global Athlete is working to protect athlete rights, the importance of including athletes in conversations about sports policy, the process of establishing a global network of anti-doping organizations, and how the...

Dr. Matt Fedoruk is Chief Science Officer at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). In this episode, he talks about the events leading up to the formation of USADA, common misconceptions about evidence in anti-doping rule violation cases, building an accredited anti-doping testing laboratory in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, key anti-doping programs at USADA, challenges that...

Ben Nichols is a leading global sports communication expert and Founder of Ben Nichols Communications. In this interview, he talks about the emergence of the athlete voice, challenges in navigating the complexities of anti-doping cases in sports communication, the importance of face-to-face communication, and his experiences working with a wide variety of sport leagues, sponsors, and anti-doping o...

David Howman is currently Chair of the Board of Directors at Athletics Integrity Unit, and he is the former Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency or WADA. He has also been named Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to sport. In this episode, David talks about the formation of the Athletics Integrity Unit, corruption and doping issues in sport, his experiences bei...

Paula   Radcliffe  is an accomplished long-distance runner, and among her many achievements, she holds the distinction of being the Women's World Marathon Record holder for over 15 years. Paula shares some of her experiences as an elite athlete related to undergoing anti-doping testing, recovering from multiple injuries to continue competing, and becoming a champion of the anti-doping movement.

Jon Coyles is Vice President of Drug, Health, and Safety Programs at Major League Baseball (MLB). In this interview, he discusses the history of anti-doping efforts at MLB, describes current MLB anti-doping programs, and brings to light important issues related to contamination in over-the-counter vitamins and supplements that impact athletes.