43 – Remote Drug Testing and Preparing For Future Crises – Matthew Fedoruk, PhD
Dr. Matthew Fedoruk is Chief Science Officer at the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). In this interview, we talk about USADA’s new remote drug testing program, how USADA has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, major challenges the global anti-doping community is currently facing, and his role in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)’s Strategic Testing Expert Group focused on preparing for future crises.
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42 – Paralympic Powerlifter Advocates for Anti-Doping – Ali Jawad
Ali Jawad is an accomplished British powerlifter and Board Member of the Commonwealth Games Team England. He was awarded a bronze medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, a silver medal in the 2016 Paralympic Games, and gold medals in the 2015 IPC Powerlifting European Championships and 2014 IPC Powerlifting World Championships. Ali discusses his career, some of the challenges he has faced, his perspective on anti-doping as an elite athlete, and his work as a Member of the Start Up Group with Global Athlete.
41 – The Impacts of COVID-19 on the Olympic and Paralympic Games – Jonathan Finnoff, DO
Dr. Jonathan Finnoff is Chief Medical Officer of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). In our interview, he discusses the timeline of events leading up to the postponement of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the broad spectrum of effects this pandemic has had on athletes, new protocols and safety measures in place at training centers, anti-doping and COVID-19 testing procedures, and how the USOPC has been dealing with some of the major challenges that have arisen during this pandemic.
40 – How PGA TOUR Is Handling COVID-19 – Andy Levinson
Andy Levinson is Senior Vice President of Tournament Administration at PGA TOUR and Executive Director of USA GOLF. In our interview, he provides an insider look at how PGA TOUR has navigated some of the major challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the new protocols and restrictions they have put in place to protect players, staff, and spectators. He also discusses their innovative solution to addressing issues surrounding COVID-19 testing for players, impacts on their anti-doping programs, and more.
39 – Major League Baseball’s Response to COVID-19 – Jon Coyles, JD
Jon Coyles is Vice President of Drug, Health and Safety Programs at Major League Baseball (MLB). In this episode, he gives us a behind-the-scenes look at some of the biggest challenges that MLB has faced as a result of COVID-19, the safety protocols they developed in response to the pandemic, how these protocols were developed, MLB’s COVID-19 testing requirements and logistics, as well as the impacts of the pandemic on MLB’s anti-doping programs, their regular season, and the postseason as it begins.
38 – Impacts of Altitude and Iron Supplementation on Haematological Responses – Laura Garvican-Lewis, PhD
Dr. Laura Lewis is Director of Science at the US Anti-Doping Agency. Previously, she was a Research Fellow at the Australian Catholic University. She was awarded a PCC Research Grant in 2015 and a PCC Fellowship in 2018. We discuss her work on hematological responses to altitude training and iron supplementation, how these impact the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), her recent work validating a model that addresses blood plasma volume variance in the ABP, and her experiences as a PCC Fellow.
37 – Dietary Supplement Certification to Protect Athletes – Lori Bestervelt, PhD
Dr. Lori Bestervelt is Director of Business Development & Partnerships at ChemFORWARD, a nonprofit collaboration of brands, retailers, and NGOs providing high quality, actionable data on chemical hazards. She was formerly Executive Vice President & Chief Science Officer at NSF International, an independent, global, accredited inspection organization. Lori discusses anti-doping issues related to dietary supplements, how supplements are regulated, and her work to create the NSF Certified for Sport Program.
36 – Physician Committed to Clean Sport and Athlete Safety – Ed Merrens, MD, MHCDS
Dr. Ed Merrens is Chief Clinical Officer and a Hospitalist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, and Board Member of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). He shares his perspective on challenges in anti-doping, the impacts of COVID-19 on sport, and exciting developments in anti-doping. Ed also discusses his role on the Board of USADA and his experiences as a team physician for U.S. Biathlon and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
35 – Intelligence-Based Anti-Doping and International Anti-Doping Efforts – Michael Ask
Michael Ask is CEO of Anti-Doping Denmark and Chairman of the International Association of National Anti-Doping Organizations (iNADO). He discusses intelligence-based anti-doping, different types of evidence they collect in anti-doping cases, the goals and objectives of iNADO, the importance of anti-doping education, the wide variety of disciplines that come together in anti-doping, and how his previous career in law enforcement with the Danish National Police Force has helped him in his current roles.
34 – Executive Director Update on the PCC’s Response to COVID-19 – Michael Pearlmutter, MBA
Michael Pearlmutter, MBA, is Executive Director of the Partnership for Clean Competition (PCC). In this episode, Michael provides an update on how the PCC and the anti-doping community have been impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the PCC’s recent partnerships to support COVID-19 testing and research, and the PCC’s dedication to public health and ensuring the health and safety of all athletes during this challenging time.
33 – An Inside Look at a WADA-Accredited Laboratory – Francesco Botrè, PhD
Francesco Botrè, PhD, is Director of the WADA-Accredited Laboratorio Antidoping Federazione Medico Sportiva Italiana (FMSI Anti-Doping Lab). He shares the history of FMSI Lab and the complex process of how samples are collected, delivered, anonymized, processed, analyzed, and interpreted by the lab. Francesco also discusses his research on doping masking agents, metabolic modulators, and drug-drug interactions, as well as his experiences running testing in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy.