138 – How the Team USA Athletes’ Commission is Empowering Athletes and the Athlete Voice – Elizabeth Ramsey
Elizabeth Ramsey, Executive Director of the Team USA Athletes’ Commission (formerly the USOPC Athletes’ Advisory Council) joins this episode to discuss how the Commission is working to empower Team USA athletes to inspire and drive positive change. She shares how the Commission is organized, what it can do to help athletes, and how it’s critical for athletes to be engaged in the governance of sport to ensure their views are taken into account in making decisions that will impact them. We also specifically discuss important issues related to anti-doping that the Team USA Athletes’ Commision has been working on, the impacts of the recent 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and more.
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89 – WADA’s Anti-Doping Education and Social Science Research – Tony Cunningham
Tony Cunningham is a Senior Manager in the Education Department with responsibility for Social Science Research and Policy at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). In our interview, we talk more about Tony’s career, education initiatives at WADA, the International Standard for Education and the impacts it is having on anti-doping education, as well as support for social science research at WADA.
88 – Advocating for Athletes and Clean Sport – Léa Krüger
Léa Krüger is a four-time German champion in saber fencing and a current member of the German National Team. She is also an athlete advocate, serving as an athletes’ representative for the German Fencing Federation, a member of the Deutschland Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) Athletes’ Commission, a member of the advisory board for NADA Germany, and a member of the Executive Committee of Athleten Deutschland, Germany’s first independent athlete association. In addition, she is a law student at the University of Cologne. In our interview today, we’ll talk more about Léa’s experiences in sport and athlete advocacy.
87 – NADA Germany’s Commitment to Clean Sport – Lars Mortsiefer
Dr. Lars Mortsiefer is Legal Director, Chief Legal Officer, and a Member of the Executive Board of the National Anti Doping Agency of Germany (NADA Germany). He is also Vice-Chair of the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organisations (iNADO). In our interview, Lars shares more about his career, NADA Germany, the organization’s history, and their anti-doping efforts.
86 – Drone Delivery and Other Novel Research at the Anti-Doping Lab Qatar – Vidya Mohamed-Ali, PhD
Dr. Vidya Mohamed-Ali is Scientific Advisor at the Anti-Doping Lab Qatar and Deputy Director of the Centre of Metabolism and Inflammation at University College London. In our conversation, Vidya shares details about her career and research at the Anti-Doping Lab Qatar, including projects focused on detecting blood doping, their work using metabolomics to identify doping via growth hormone and autologous blood transfusion, and an innovative new PCC-funded study exploring use of drones for transport of anti-doping samples.
85 – Anti-Doping Lab Qatar is Dedicated to Protecting Clean Sport – Alka Beotra, PhD
Dr. Alka Beotra is Director of the WADA-Accredited Qatar Doping Analysis Laboratory and Qatar Athlete Passport Management Unit. In our interview, she shares more about the Anti-Doping Lab Qatar, the organization’s history, her career in anti-doping, preparations for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup, and more.
84 – Doping Prevention and Education at the French Anti-Doping Agency – Catherine Coley
Catherine Coley is Director of the Prevention and Education Department at the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD). In this episode, she shared more about AFLD’s history and mission, her work on their anti-doping prevention and education programs, and preparations for the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games that will be held in Paris in 2024.
83 – Research Updates from the Sports Medicine Research Testing Laboratory – Geoff Miller, PhD
Dr. Geoff Miller is Assistant Laboratory Director at the Sports Medicine Research Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) in Utah. In this episode, we talk more about SMRTL and the exciting research projects Geoff has been working on, including studies to detect growth hormone with capillary dried blood spot testing and capillary whole blood testing for Athlete Biological Passport analyses. He also shares his experiences as a former PCC Research Fellow.
82 – Exploring WADA’s Anti-Doping Administration & Management System (ADAMS) – Chaya Ndiaye
Chaya Ndiaye is the Head of Product at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). In this episode, she guides us through WADA’s Anti-Doping Administration Management System (ADAMS), talking about what it is, how it’s used, and how it has changed and continues to evolve over time to meet the needs of its users in the anti-doping community.
81 – Swiss Doping Control Laboratory and the World Association of Anti-Doping Scientists – Tiia Kuuranne, PhD
Dr. Tiia Kuuranne is Director of the Swiss Laboratory for Doping Control Analyses, Adjunct Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Helsinki, and President of the World Association of Anti-Doping Scientists (WAADS). She is joining us to talk more about her work in the lab as well as the important role that WAADS plays in promoting clean sport.
80 – Anti-Doping Knowledge Center Deep Dive – Rien Tuk
Rien Tuk works for The Anti-Doping Authority Netherlands (Dutch Doping Authority) as Manager of the Anti-Doping Knowledge Center (https://www.doping.nl/). He joins us today to talk more about the Dutch Doping Authority and the unique resource they have developed for disseminating information related to anti-doping. The Anti-Doping Knowledge Center continues to grow, and it is a valuable resource for people around the world. You can contribute to The Anti-Doping Knowledge Center by emailing relevant anti-doping documents such as scientific journal articles, case law, reports, or other documents to adkc@dopingautoriteit.nl.
79 – Anti-Doping Perspectives from the PCC’s Executive Director – Ryan Murphy
Ryan Murphy joined the Partnership for Clean Competition (PCC) as the Executive Director in 2021. In this episode, he shares more about his current position and his prior career experiences that led him to the PCC. In addition, he talks about the PCC’s mission, current research funding opportunities, and what’s next for the PCC.
78 – Olympic Historian Tracks Anti-Doping History – Bill Mallon, MD
Dr. Bill Mallon is an Olympic historian as well as Co-founder and Past President of the International Society of Olympic Historians. He is also a medical doctor, specializing in orthopedic surgery, and a former professional golfer. Bill joined us in this episode to discuss the history of anti-doping and the Olympics.
77 – The Role of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Anti-Doping Law – Paul Greene, JD
Paul Greene is an attorney at Global Sports Advocates, LLC who represents a variety of clients in the sports realm, including everyone from Olympic committees to athletes accused of doping. He joins us in this episode to discuss the legal process for athletes who might find themselves accused of wrongdoing.
76 – NFL’s Efforts to Promote Clean Sport in Football – Janelle Winston, JD
Janelle Winston is a lawyer who represents the NFL and its teams in labor-management disputes involving compensation and salary, player discipline, electronic medical records, and workers’ compensation, as well as anti-doping. She is also the newest member of the Partnership for Clean Competition’s Board of Governors, representing the NFL. We discuss these topics and more in this episode.
75 – Insights on Anti-Doping from USADA’s General Counsel – Jeff Cook, JD
Jeff Cook is the General Counsel for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), where he leads USADA’s legal and investigative staff as well as the legal department’s arbitration and legal cases. He joins us in this episode to discuss his experiences and his role in fighting doping in sport.
74 – Nordic Skier Advocates For Athletes and Anti-Doping – Noah Hoffman
Noah Hoffman is a two-time Olympian. He competed for Team USA in Nordic skiing before moving on to become an advocate for athletes, both in a personal capacity and as a board member of the group Global Athlete, as well as an Athlete presenter for the Education Team at USADA. Noah joined us in this episode to talk about how doping affects athletes and how it shaped him into the advocate he is today.
73 – Innovative Approaches for Detecting Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Abuse – Fred Schaufele, PhD
Dr. Fred Schaufele is a Professor at the University of California, San Francisco and a Co-Founder at XCellAssay. He’s a research scientist with extensive knowledge and capabilities in a broad variety of biochemical, molecular, and cellular fields. In this episode, Dr. Schaufele discusses recently completed PCC-funded research on detecting anabolic androgenic steroids, specifically in amateur sporting populations.
72 – In-Depth Review of the WADA Prohibited List – Olivier Rabin, PhD
Dr. Olivier Rabin is the Senior Director of Science and Medicine at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Among his many responsibilities are overseeing the List of Prohibited Substances and Methods as well as the Athlete Biological Passport. He joins us today to talk about the WADA Prohibited List and changes for 2022.
71 – Investigating the Athlete Exposome and its Importance for Drug Testing – Mario Thevis, PhD
Dr. Mario Thevis is 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 (EuMoCEDA), a forensic chemist, Editor and Chief of the journal Drug Testing and Analysis, and a Research Scientist with the Partnership for Clean Competition. In this episode, Mario discusses new research focusing on the athlete exposome.
70 – Identifying Protective Behaviors in Athletes to Promote Anti-Doping Adherence – Lindsay Duncan, PhD
Dr. Lindsay Duncan is a professor in the Kinesiology and Physical Education Department at McGill University in Montreal. She specializes in health psychology, health communication, and health interventions. She joins us in this interview to talk about new research focused on guiding athlete behavior in the anti-doping space, specifically investigating athlete protective behaviors.
69 – A Look Inside iNADO and Review of Anti-Doping Research – Jorge Leyva
Jorge Leyva serves as the CEO of the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organisations, also known as iNADO. The organization provides advocacy and support for national anti-doping agencies all over the world. Jorge joins us today to discuss iNADO operations as well as a recent review that the organization conducted regarding the last few decades of anti-doping research.
68 – The Critical Role of Whistleblowers in the Fight Against Doping – Günter Younger
Günter Younger works as the Director of Intelligence and Investigations for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). He comes to the position from a background in law enforcement. In this episode, Günter joins us to talk about the role of whistleblowers in anti-doping, steps being taken to protect whistleblowers, and confidential resources available for people to report suspected wrong-doing in sport.
67 – USADA’s Commitment to Athlete and International Relations in Anti-Doping – Allison Wagner
Allison Wagner serves as the US Anti-Doping Agency’s first Director of Athlete and International Relations. She was formerly an All-American, Olympic, and World Champion swimmer, and her accomplishments include a silver medal in the Atlanta Olympic Games and a former world record set in the World Championships in Palma de Mallorca. Now, Allison is using her experience as an athlete to serve as a voice for others. She joins us in this episode to discuss her role in anti-doping.
66 – Advancing Our Ability to Detect Blood Doping – Nicolas Leuenberger, PhD
Dr. Nicolas Leuenberger conducts research for the Swiss Anti-Doping Lab and the University of Lausanne. His research has traditionally focused on blood doping, and he has also done extensive work on identifying biomarkers in dried blood spots. Nicolas joins us in this episode to discuss his haematological research and his thoughts on the future of detection methods for blood doping.
65 – An Inside Look at the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Athlete Committee – Ben Sandford
Ben Sandford is a three time Olympian competing in skeleton racing for New Zealand, and he received the Bronze Medal at the 2012 Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships. Since wrapping up his athletic career in 2014, he has become the chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)’s Athlete Committee. He is also a Member of the New Zealand Olympic Committee Athlete Commission and an attorney with Sandford & Partners. Ben joins us to discuss his experiences and WADA’s efforts to integrate the athlete voice.