The Partnership for Clean Competition, a nonprofit grant making organization that aims to ensure integrity in sport by funding high-quality and innovative anti-doping research, announced today that it will hold a conference titled: “The Doping Decision: Deterring Doping in Sport” on Dec. 1 at the NFL’s new offices in New York City.
The conference, held in conjunction with the Office of Continuing Medical Education, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, will bring together leaders and influencers in anti-doping who share a common desire to ensure clean competition across all levels of sport. The conference is open to those interested in being part of the solution, including sports entities, scientists, sports physicians and trainers, anti-doping authorities, legal advisors and policy makers, and other leaders who may influence the future of anti-doping.
The December 2011 conference aims to raise understanding of the reasons behind an athlete’s decision whether or not to use performance enhancing drugs, and approaches to deter an athlete’s usage, primarily through scientific research-based solutions.
“This conference, much like our approach to the elimination of doping in sport, is a collaborative effort,” said USOC General Counsel and Chief of Legal & Government Affairs and PCC Chairperson Rana Dershowitz. “The solution requires like-minded people to work together to help ensure clean competition at all levels.”
The event’s keynote speaker will be David Howman, Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Together with WADA President John Fahey, Mr. Howman leads the global fight for drug-free sport, protecting the rights of clean athletes through the harmonization of anti-doping programs that include testing, education and awareness. WADA works closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and all the leading international sports federations, such as FIFA and the IAAF. Its approach to anti-doping also involves the sharing of intelligence with international law enforcement agencies such as Interpol and the World Customs Organization.
“We look forward to December 1 and the PCC Conference, which is designed to develop the collective fight against doping in sport by bringing together anti-doping experts from across the world,” said Mr. Howman. “By pooling our knowledge and expertise we will continue to make strides in the protection of the rights of the clean athlete, and develop networks which will help us tackle this hugely important issue on a greater scale.”
This year’s conference focuses on factors that affect the athlete’s decision and the role science plays in deterring usage of performance enhancing drugs. Sessions will address the role influencers play in the doping decision, how effective testing deters usage, the progress in detection of drugs including human growth hormone, as well as the importance of gaining additional intelligence in improving detection approaches.
“The NFL looks forward to hosting this year’s PCC conference,” said National Football League Senior Vice President of Law & Labor Policy and PCC Board Member Adolpho Birch III. “It is vital, in our opinion, to convene experts in the anti-doping movement to help move toward a world of clean competition. By understanding the athlete’s decision-making process and different approaches to deterrence, we hope to educate those who may influence athletes and generate new research opportunities in the field.”
With a primary focus on research, the PCC administers three grant rounds per year, with pre-applications due March 1, July 1, and Nov. 1. PCC primarily funds projects which improve existing analytical methods for detecting particular compounds and substances, develop analytical methods to detect designer drugs, or identify cost effective approaches for testing widely-abused substances. In addition to continuing to fund other priority research areas, the PCC is currently requesting proposals for two key research topics: enhancing existing methods of detection of hGH use and developing detection approaches using low volume and alternative specimens. Applications will be reviewed by the PCC’s Scientific Advisory Board, which consists of internationally-recognized experts. The board of governors, comprised of representatives from the USOC, USADA, MLB and NFL, considers the SAB recommendations and makes final determinations on grant funding distribution.
The PCC has funded 20 grants since its inception in 2008, totaling $4.4 million. The most recent PCC funding recipients include:
- Dr. David Bruns and Dr. Brian Kelly, University of Virginia, ”RT-qPCR approach for detection of recombinant human growth hormone use in athletes”
- Dr. Richard Holt, University of Southhampton, “GH-2004: Novel biomarkers for the detection of IGF-1 abuse”
- Dr. Andrew Kicman, King’s College London, “Detection of UDP-Glucuronosyltransferuse B17 inter-individual variations in Peripheral Blood Mononucelar Cells: implications for testosterone catabolism and anti-doping analysis”
- Dr. Nicholas Leuenberger, Swiss Laboratory of Doping Analyses, “Circulating microRNAs as a stable biomarker for detection of autologous transfusion”
- Dr. Monica Mazzarino, Laboratorio Antidoping FMSI, “Synthesis and characterization of human metabolites of toremifene”
- Dr. Andrew Phillips, Yale University, “Microarray-MS Approaches to the Detection of Known and Designer Doping Agents”
- Dr. Thomas Piper, Swiss Laboratory of Doping Analyses, “Determination of 2H/1H ratios of endogenous urinary steroids”
- Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, Moscow Anti-Doping Center, “Analytical strategy for the search and structural elucidation of non-target compounds”
- Dr. Pauline Rudd, National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training, “Structural differences as a biomarker of EPO use”
To learn more about the PCC conference or to apply for PCC funding, please visit the PCC website at www.cleancompetition.org.
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