The Partnership for Clean Competition funds more than 70% of the world’s anti-doping research, so when it comes to the field, we’ve seen almost everything. However, outside of anti-doping circles, many researchers don’t realize how broad the space truly is—and how their research may apply. We want to shine a light on the breadth of anti-doping work, so we’ve selected a number of areas with potentially surprising crossover.
If you know someone working in one of these realms, let them know there could be anti-doping research funding available for them.
Revealing the Molecular World
Molecules can present mysteries, but they can also solve them. One of the most important tools in solving molecular mysteries is the mass spectrometer, which is unique in the detailed level of elemental information it provides. That detail, in turn, is key to interpreting complex mixture components. The given level of specificity ensures the tool has many applications in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields, as mass spectroscopy is the only way to determine molecular weights.
Mass spectrometry can help with drug discovery and understanding how medicines move through the body and are metabolized. It can also aid in all kinds of composition testing—from water quality to food contamination to rare earth metals.
In fact, mass spectrometers have even been sent to other planets and moons. A pair were delivered to Mars by the Viking program, and the famed Cassini-Huygens mission delivered a specialized mass spectrometer through the atmosphere of Titan—Saturn’s largest moon.
Analytical chemistry relying on chromatography and spectrometry covers everything from the smallest molecules in the body to the contents of celestial bodies elsewhere in the galaxy.
However, when combined with advances in liquid and gas chromatography, mass spectrometry is also extraordinarily helpful in anti-doping, as it can be used to detect substances in standard anti-doping matrices, namely urine and blood. Those with expertise in chromatography and spectrometry could push the field of anti-doping forward significantly, as there are always new threats to detect.
If you’re interested in learning more about the anti-doping research we fund, consider reviewing our Research Priorities here.
If you’d like to apply for PCC funding, you can register for an account in the application center here. If you have any questions, feel free to email Michael Pearlmutter at mpearlmutter@cleancompetition.org.
