The Anti-Doping Podcast

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.