Dr. Francesca Rossi is Testing Director at the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) where she also manages international partnerships and serves as a science coordinator. She joined us in this interview to talk about her career and her work at AFLD, including preparations for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. Listen to this episode to get a behind-the-scenes look at the important considerations and work done by national anti-doping organizations ahead of a large event like the 2024 Games.

Dr. Andrew Heyes is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Leeds Beckett University. He is also working on a research project at the University of Birmingham, and he is an elite athlete in the marathon and ultramarathon competing for Great Britain, a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Social Science Research Expert Advisory Group, a Member of the UK Anti-Doping Athlete Commission, and former Chair of the UK Athletics Athletes’ Commission. In this episode, we discuss multiple anti-doping and sport integrity social science research projects that Andrew is working on, as well as his athletic career, and his dedication to anti-doping advocacy.

Dr. Jakob Mørkeberg is Senior Science Manager at Anti Doping Denmark. In this episode, he discusses research and development efforts to advance dried blood spot (DBS) testing, how they have implemented DBS methods for drug testing in elite sport and fitness centers in Denmark, and some of the positive cases and athlete sanctions from DBS tests. Jakob also covers their ongoing research to better understand the scope of doping and doping substances in Denmark, important collaborations and partnerships that are helping them advance clean sport, and more.

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://athletes-tale.eu/. Cornelia is Professor and deputy head of the Institute for Sports Medicine, Alpine Medicine and Health Tourism at the University for Health Sciences and Health Tech in Hall in Tirol, Austria. David is Head of Information and Education at the National Anti-Doping Agency Austria (NADA Austria). He is also head of the Medical Department and is the Quality Manager at NADA Austria.

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, Anti-Doping Norway’s goals for the future, and more.

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 the context of clean sport, the anti-doping implications of the growing field of biologics, and more.

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 Games which will be held in Los Angeles.

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 they are doing at Anti-Doping Denmark currently, including anti-doping efforts in organized sports and also in gyms and fitness centers across the country.

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 in the anti-doping community. He also shares some of the important research that he and his colleagues are working on, including using a zebrafish water tank model to better understand the metabolism of prohibited substances and research aimed at better detecting use of cobalt, a prohibited substance that can impact red blood cell production.

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 milestones and future directions for implementation in anti-doping testing. Dr. Fedoruk is Chief Science Officer at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), and he is also Co-Chair of the Partnership for Clean Competition’s Scientific Advisory Board.

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. In this episode, Dr. Erwin Berthier and RJ Asplund describe Tasso’s current devices and how they work, the benefits of these products, and how their work is helping advance anti-doping. Erwin is Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer and RJ is Vice President of Commercial at Tasso, Inc.

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, pathophysiology and biomarkers of growth hormone action, and endocrine aspects of doping in sports. In this episode, we discuss his work identifying new biomarkers and developing novel methods to measure growth hormone and detect growth hormone doping. He describes how growth hormone isoforms and the formation of complexes can help distinguish doping, and how the protein soluble α-klotho has emerged as a potential biomarker that may be useful in anti-doping analyses.

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 their role in the global anti-doping community. He also discusses upcoming changes for sport integrity in New Zealand, and their key focus areas for the future.

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, and Gary is a Member of the PCC’s Scientific Advisory Board. In our interview, Jon and Gary share their perspectives on clean sport in baseball, the history of the PCC, important impacts the organization has had in anti-doping over the past fifteen years, collaborations between the PCC and MLB, and more.

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 involvement with the American Physiological Society. He will also be discussing initiatives from the PCC and the APS designed to attract early-career and established researchers to the field of anti-doping, as well as some of the success stories to date.

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, Adolpho discusses his career, his experiences supporting clean sport, and anti-doping advances in football over the years. In addition, to continue the celebration of the PCC’s 15th anniversary this year, Adolpho talks more about the history and impacts of the PCC in the anti-doping movement.

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 advocating for athletes.

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 partnership with the American Physiological Society (APS).

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 Awards in partnership with the American Physiological Society (APS).

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 year.

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 human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).

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 provide, key partnerships for the organization, and the importance of transparency in all aspects of the work done at AIU.

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 of these difficult topics. In this episode, Don shares the history of the foundation, their mission, and how they are contributing to the clean sport movement.

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-doping program, and how they are working with others around the world to protect clean sport.

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 has implemented over the past two decades to detect and deter doping to help ensure clean sport in baseball.