The Anti-Doping Podcast

Kara Goucher is a three-time NCAA champion, two-time Olympian, winner of the silver medal at the 2007 World Championships in the 10,000 meter race, and a podium finisher at the Boston and New York Marathons. She is currently a mom and a successful author, television commentator, and podcaster. In this episode, Kara discusses her passion for running, the ups and downs of her athletic career, her experiences as part of Nike's Oregon Project, and the important role she played as an informant to bring the doping issues she witnessed to light.

Carlos López Tiboni is Senior Anti-Doping Manager at the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). He shared details about FIFA's history, their approach to anti-doping, their current anti-doping program, and the organization's priorities for the future. Carlos provided insight into the scope of FIFa's anti-doping testing and education efforts, and the partnerships that help make their anti-doping program possible. In advance of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Carlos and his team have been hard at work getting ready for this major event, and he discussed their preparations and the role they will play throughout the competition this summer.

Holly Shick is Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee  (USOPC). She is also Vice Chair of the Board of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum and a member of the Board of Governors of the Partnership for Clean Competition. In this episode, Holly explains why the USOPC created her role in 2020, how the ethics and compliance environment at the USOPC has evolved over the past six years, and the role that she and her team play in major competitions like the recent 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Dr. Neil Robinson Neil is Head of the Science & Medical Department at the International Testing Agency (ITA). In this episode, he discusses his career, the role of ITA in the anti-doping community, and current scientific priorities. We go in-depth on the logistics, challenges, and impacts of anti-doping sample storage and re-analysis, opportunities in anti-doping data analytics, collaborations with diverse stakeholders, and more. 

Dr. Michael Skinnider is an Assistant Professor in the Ludwig Princeton Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University. In this interview, Mike discusses how he got involved in anti-doping research and provides an in-depth look into the novel chemical artificial intelligence (AI) platform he has been developing that is focused on discovering new doping agents. He shares next steps for this line of research and his perspective on the potential impacts of this work for the anti-doping community.

Dr. Olivier de Hon is the Chief Science Officer and Director of Intelligence and Investigations at Doping Authority Netherlands. In this episode, he shares more about the history of the organization, progress in estimating doping prevalence, challenges in assessing the effectiveness of anti-doping programs, and considerations for promoting clean sport among elite athletes as well as recreational athletes in gyms and fitness centers.

Dr. Jennifer Royer is the TrueSport & Awareness Senior Director at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). In this episode, she goes in-depth on the educational materials and resources that TrueSport provides for coaches, athletes, and their families. We also hear about her career, hot topics in sport education, and how TrueSport engages athletes and other partners to support and raise awareness for clean sport and sport integrity.

Greta Neimanas is an Elite Education Coordinator at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). She is a two-time Paralympian and two-time World Champion cyclist with U.S. Para Cycling. In this interview, she discussed her athletic career and her experiences with the anti-doping system as an elite athlete. Greta described her work at USADA, their current anti-doping education programs, and the important role that education plays in clean sport.

Rusty Smith is Head of Research Programs at the Partnership for Clean Competition (PCC). In this episode he discusses his career, his current role at the PCC, and PCC funding opportunities, including upcoming deadlines for the next cycle of PCC Research Grants and Fellowships. We also cover the PCC's research priorities, anti-doping collaborations and partnerships, goals for the future, and more. 

Dr. Daniel Westmattelmann is Professor in Business Administration at the Private University of Economics and Technology (PHWT) in Vechta, Germany, as well as an Affiliated Researcher at the University of Münster. In this episode, he discussed his former career as a professional cyclist, his path to becoming a researcher, and some of his recent research projects. In particular, he described a PCC-funded research project that examined a remote sampling system for anti-doping. He also shared recently published work using simulations to study the impacts of sample retention and re-analysis on doping behavior and doping detection, as well as a collaborative project investigating the experiences and challenges of athletes who have been sanctioned for anti-doping rule violations.

The Catalonian Anti-Doping Laboratory was established in 1985, and this year marks their 40th anniversary of operations. Dr. Rosa Ventura Alemany is Director of the laboratory, which is within the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) in Barcelona, Spain. In this episode, she discusses how the laboratory and the field of anti-doping have evolved over the years, some of the lab's major contributions to anti-doping science, and current research projects spanning investigations of the use of sulfate metabolites as markers to detect anabolic steroids, glucocorticoids and how to differentiate between permitted versus prohibited administration, and the analysis of doping agents in dried blood spot (DBS) samples.

Dr. John Eiler is the Robert P. Sharp Professor of Geology and Geochemistry, as well as the Ted and Ginger Jenkins Leadership Chair of the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at Caltech. In this episode, John discusses his career, his research examining the molecular structure of isotopes, and how the approach that he and his collaborators have developed is relevant for the anti-doping community. He goes into detail on a recent PCC-funded research project investigating the use of molecular isotopic structure as a tool for doping forensics, their promising new results, and the impacts that this work could have to advance clean sport.

In the second episode of our two-episode mini-series featuring Biotage, Esraa AboJasser and Dr. Lee Williams share more detail about their work, particularly in the North America region. Biotage is a global supplier and solutions partner to a wide range of customers within drug discovery, drug development, and analytical testing. The company's products and solutions are critical for anti-doping laboratories, scientists conducting anti-doping research, and labs across a variety of other fields. This episode explores Biotage's consumable products, their activities in North America, their educational endeavors, the company's goals for the future, preparations for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, and more. Esraa is Market and Applications Manager in Analytical Testing at Biotage, and Lee is Director of R&D for Analytical Consumables and Applications at Biotage.

In this episode, Monika Vezse and Dr. Lee Williams joined us to talk about their work at Biotage, a global supplier and solutions partner to a wide range of customers within drug discovery, drug development, and analytical testing. The company's portfolio includes products and solutions that are critical for anti-doping laboratories and scientists conducting anti-doping research. This is the first episode of a two-episode mini-series with Biotage team members, and this episode focuses on introducing the company, sharing it's history, talking about some of their products, and describing their work to support anti-doping efforts in the Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. Monika is the EMEA Market Segment and Application Lab Manager for Analytical Testing & Diagnostics at Biotage, and Lee is Director of R&D for Analytical Consumables and Applications at Biotage.

Shannon Rowbury is an accomplished elite U.S. track athlete and three-time Olympian. She is an Olympic bronze medalist, two-time World bronze medalist, World Record Holder in the distance medley relay, former American record holder in the 1,500 meter, 2 mile, and 5,000 meter races, and she has been ranked among the top ten female track athletes in the world for a decade. In addition, Shannon is a Managing Partner at West Strategy Group and co-founder and President of Imagining More, a non-profit organization that promotes arts and athletics for youth. She is also an Emmy-Award winning broadcaster, she's been an in-stadium announcer, and Track & Field analyst. In this episode, Shannon discusses her career, her commitment to clean sport, and her experiences surrounding the 2012 Olympic Games in London. After crossing the finish line in sixth place in that race, Shannon has now officially been recognized as the bronze medalist after multiple competitors were disqualified for doping. 

Rahul Gupta, MD, MPH, MBA, FACP, is a physician, President of GATC Health Corp, and the former Director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). He was the first medical doctor to lead ONDCP, and he served as the Director from November 2021 - January 2025. Through his work, particularly at ONDCP, Dr. Gupta has made important contributions to protecting public health, which is an important component of the PCC's mission. In this interview, he discussed drug control policy in the U.S., positive outcomes from the initiatives he has led, his role in safeguarding clean sport, his experience as keynote speaker at our recent PCC Conference, and his current innovative endeavors in drug discovery and healthcare. 

Dr. Lori Bestervelt is Senior Vice President of Certification Services at TruShield Certified and a member of the PCC's Scientific Advisory Board. She was previously Chief Science Officer at NSF International for 22 years, and she has over 20 years of experience in sport certification programs. Dr. Bestervelt discussed the importance of banned substance certification, the gap in the market that TruShield Certified was created to address, the kinds of products they test and certify, how the certification process works, collaborations with other stakeholders in the anti-doping community, and more.

John Hertig, PharmD, MS, CPPS, FASHP, is Founder of Hertig Healthcare Advising and former faculty in the Pharmacy Practice Department in the Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He is also Past-President and a current Board of Directors member of the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies and is a Member of the United States Food and Drug Administration Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee. In this episode, he discusses his career, the online pharmacy landscape, the challenges and risks associated with illegal online pharmacies, how athletes and others can help keep themselves safe when accessing medications online, and more.

Dr. Kevin Murray is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Integrative Physiology of Aging Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is the recipient of this year's PCC-sponsored Anti-Doping Postdoctoral Award in partnership with the American Physiological Society (APS). In this episode, we discuss his career path and his research, particularly focusing on his recent work studying the role extracellular vesicles may play in modulating arterial function. This research is critical for understanding the potential performance-enhancing effects of emerging extracellular vesicle therapies. 

Dan Burke is the Intelligence and Investigations Director at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). In this episode, he describes USADA's approach, tactics, and tools, for anti-doping investigations, including work in the area of cybercrime and online investigations. He also shares insights and experiences from his nearly three decades working in U.S. federal law enforcement, including his prior role as Division Chief at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations, where he focused on the manufacturing of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, designer steroids, and tainted dietary supplements.

Dr. Sven Voss is Director of the Institute of Doping Analysis and Sports Biochemistry (IDAS) – Dresden, a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited doping control laboratory in Germany. In this interview, he described his career path and his experiences working at multiple anti-doping labs around the world. In particular, he provided insights on IDAS – Dresden, including its history, their routine anti-doping work, and ongoing research projects on erythropoietin (EPO), blood doping, and other areas. 

Dr. Vinod Nair is Associate Laboratory Director of the WADA-Accredited Sports Medicine and Research Testing Laboratory (SMRTL). In this episode, Vinod covers how anti-doping labs strive to provide efficient and cost-effective services while maintaining the rigor and quality standards required in the industry. He explains how SMRTL incorporates automation into their lab's work and shares his thoughts on the future of automation in anti-doping laboratories. We also discussed recent research that he and colleagues published examining minimum reporting limits to determine in-competition use of stimulants. 

Dr. Trine Grønhaug Halvorsen is Professor in the Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry within the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Oslo in Norway. In this episode, she talks about her research on dried blood spot sampling, detecting peptide doping agents in anti-doping samples, and development of smart samplers, which incorporate the initial sample preparation steps into the collection device. 

Dr. Sophia Krombholz is a PCC Fellow and a Research Scientist and Research Associate at the Manfred Donike Institute for Doping Analysis in Cologne, Germany. In this episode, Sophia discusses her career path, her PCC-funded fellowship project, and other exciting anti-doping research. Dr. Krombholz's fellowship project is investigating the metabolism of anabolic steroids administered through alternative routes (transdermally or buccally) and has yielded interesting results that may help inform the interpretation of findings from anti-doping tests. 

Dr. Olivier Salamin is the Operational Manager of the Lausanne Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU) within the Swiss Laboratory for Doping Analyses at the Lausanne University Hospital (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire vaudois/CHUV). In this episode, he discussed his career and research on the discovery and validation of biomarkers to detect prohibited substances and methods, particularly related to the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP). He also gives us an inside look at the history and operations of the Lausanne APMU.

Dr. Andy Hoofnagle is a researcher, professor, board certified pathologist, and laboratory director at the University of Washington. He is Head of the Division of Chemistry, Director of Chemistry at the UW Medical Center - Montlake, Director of Clinical Mass Spectrometry, and Director of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center's Analytic Core at the University of Washington. He is also Chair of the PCC's Collagen Turnover Working Group. In this episode, he discusses his research and recent advances in the ability to detect growth hormone administration using biomarkers of collagen turnover. We also discussed Dr. Hoofnagle's role as a mentor for PCC Research Fellow Dr. Huu Hien Huynh and his experience as a presenter at our 2025 PCC Conference. 

Dr. Maria Kristina Parr is a Professor in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Freie Universität Berlin. In this interview, she discusses her research that has focused on understanding the metabolism of steroids and other compounds and improving our ability to detect these substances and their metabolites for anti-doping and other purposes. We covered the results from several of her latest papers, including work examining food sources of ecdysterone, metabolism of topically administered steroids in skin cells, metabolism of endogenous versus exogenous steroids, and more.

This episode features Jude Ellis, Head of Anti-Doping at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). She discusses her background, the history of the IPC, and the IPC's Anti-Doping team's responsibilities for the Paralympic Games and beyond. Our conversation also gives a brief overview of the IPC Code and covers major accomplishments related to recent anti-doping testing surrounding the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

Professor Ian Boardley is the Head of Impact & Engagement, Professor in Sport and Exercise Psychology, and Chair of the Health and Safety Committee for the College of Life and Environmental Sciences in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham in the UK. In this episode, he discusses his research on the psychosocial processes governing moral behavior in sport and physical activity. In particular, he covers some of the important research studies he has conducted on moral disengagement in sport, anabolic-androgenic steroid dependence and craving, anti-doping education, and other areas.

Dr. Tina Suominen is Director of the Helsinki Doping Control Laboratory within the Forensic Chemistry Unit at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in Helsinki, Finland. In this episode, she discusses her role as Director of a WADA-Accredited Anti-Doping Laboratory, the lab's history (including a major move and re-accreditation), and the latest research and methods development projects she and her colleagues have been working on in the lab.

Dr. Brad Johnson is the Gordon W. Davis Regent's Chair in Meat Science and Muscle Biology and Professor in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Texas Tech University. In this episode, Brad discusses his research on muscle growth and development in meat animals, as well as potential contamination of meat with growth promoters that are relevant for anti-doping. In particular, he shares findings from a recent study, funded by the Partnership for Clean Competition, that examined residues of prohibited anabolic agents in the meat supply chain.

Dr. Ekain Zubizarreta is a Lecturer at the University of the Basque Country in Spain, and he is also a member of the research laboratory ISP at Paris Nanterre University in France, which hosts the UNESCO Chair in "Doping Studies and Analysis of Anti-Doping Policies". In this episode, Ekain talks about the history and significance of UNESCO's role in anti-doping, The International Convention Against Doping in Sport, and research projects he and his colleagues have worked on in the realm of anti-doping policy, anti-doping organizations, and more.

Dr. Michaël Polet is a faculty member in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences and Head of the IRMS (isotope ratio mass spectrometry) Department in the Doping Control Laboratory (DoCoLab) at Ghent University in Belgium. In this episode, he discusses PCC-funded research projects he has led to improve anti-doping analyses by developing new gas chromatography-chemical ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-CI-MS/MS) methods, as well as a novel chromatography high-resolution acquisition screening method. Michaël also discusses recent work using high-temperature liquid chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry methods that will help improve steroid detection and potentially lead to future high-throughput analysis methods.

Dr. Lena Ekström is a Hospital Chemist at Karolinska University Hospital and an Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Karolinska Institute, where she specializes in Doping Research. In this interview, we discuss her career and some of the research she has conducted examining various factors that can influence anti-doping test results including interactions with other substances, genetics, hormone cycles, biological variability, and micro-dosing.

Dr. Christoph Borchers is a Full Member in the McGill Centre for Translational Research in Cancer, Senior Investigator at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Director of the Segal Cancer Proteomics Centre, and Professor in the Department of Oncology at McGill University. In this episode, Christoph discusses his research in the area of proteomics and important applications of his work in anti-doping, including a PCC-funded research project examining quantitative proteomics longitudinally in blood to screen for blood doping. He also shares future directions for this line of research and his perspectives on important areas of opportunity in anti-doping science.

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.

Dr. Nikos Ntoumanis is Professor and Director in the Danish Centre for Motivation and Behaviour Science in the Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics at the University of Southern Denmark. In this episode, Nikos discusses important research he has been conducting on factors that are relevant for doping intentions and doping behaviors, including environmental factors like the style of coaching an athlete receives, as well as athletes' personal motivations and moral attitudes. He also discusses a recent a PCC-funded meta-analysis that provides an updated look at the evidence on personal and psychosocial predictors of doping use in physical activity settings.

Professor Kim Wolff is Director of King's Forensics and head of the Drug Control Centre, which is the only WADA accredited laboratory for sports testing in the United Kingdom. She is also Director of the London Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU), and she was named a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to road safety. Kim discusses her career and her work leading the WADA-Accredited Doping Control Centre and their APMU. She shares insights on the lab's history, how they have incorporated the Endocrine Module of the Athlete Passport into their operations, and areas of opportunity in anti-doping and forensic toxicology research. Kim also touches on ongoing research projects focused on detecting the administration of naturally occurring steroids, identifying and measuring longer-term steroid metabolites, detecting steroids and other substances using dried blood spots, and more.

Nick Raudenski is an independent Consultant and also Head of the Fight against Technological Fraud at the International Cyclist Union (UCI). Prior to his current positions, Nick's career spanned work in criminal investigations for the U.S. Government and sport integrity roles for the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and the International Testing Agency (ITA). In this episode, he shares more about his career and his work in intelligence and investigation (I&I) across multiple different sport organizations, some of the changes and challenges he has seen in the sports landscape over the years, and potential directions for the future.

Adopted in 1989, the Council of Europe's Anti-Doping Convention unites stakeholders from member states and provides a framework for working together to protect clean sport and fair play. This episode features two guests from the Council of Europe, Julien Attuil-Kayser and Dr. Liene Kozlovska. Julien recently served as the Head of the Anti-doping Unit, and Liene is the Anti-doping Senior Project Officer. In this episode, they discuss the history of the Council of Europe, the important role the organization plays in the clean sport movement, how the Anti-Doping Convention came to be, how it works today, and more.

Dr. Günter Gmeiner is Head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited Seibersdorf Doping Control Laboratory in Austria, as well as the Forensic Analytics Laboratory there. In this interview, Günter describes his scientific background, the history of the Austrian Doping Control Laboratory, how the lab has grown and evolved since it was established, their PCC-funded research developing important reference materials, current research projects in the lab, the impacts of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the lab's activities, and more.

Sean Cottrell is CEO and Co-founder of LawInSport, the world's leading sports law website, knowledge hub, and global community of more than 30,000 members. In this episode, he shares the story of how LawInSport came to be, how it has grown into the organization that it is today, and what he envisions for the future. We discuss some of the resources they provide athletes, lawyers, and other key stakeholders in the community. Sean also shares his perspectives on changes, challenges, and the importance of partnerships in sport and anti-doping. 

Dr. Reid Aikin is the Associate Director of the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), and Dr. Norbert Baume is Senior Manager of the ABP at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). In this episode, they discuss recent updates to the ABP, including the addition of new biomarkers to the Steroidal Module and the creation of the new Endocrine Module. They also share common misconceptions about the ABP and highlight ongoing research that aims to further enhance the ABP and how it can be used to help protect clean sport.

Andrea Lindsey is Director of Operation Supplement Safety, the Department of Defense program of record for dietary supplements, a Program of the Consortium for Health and Military Performance of Uniformed Services University. She is also an Assistant Professor at the Uniformed Services University. In this episode, Andrea discusses important issues surrounding dietary supplements, how Operation Supplement Safety got started, and how it is protecting the health and safety of service members today. She also discusses important partnerships and the recent Performance-Enhancing Substances Summit, a collaborative event centered around anti-doping in sport and in the military. 

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.