The Science Behind Anti-Doping

Syllabus

• Week 1

  Introduction to anti-doping

  • Welcome to the course

    Welcome to the course! This activity will give you an introduction to the team behind the course, the topics to be covered, and the athletes that we will be following over the next four weeks.

  • Who or what is WADA?

    This activity explains the role of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the independent international body established to promote, coordinate and monitor the fight against doping in sport around the world.

  • Who or what is UKAD?

    This activity explains the role of UKAD in ensuring sports bodies in the UK are compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code, and its responsibility for the implementation and management of the UK's National Anti-Doping Policy.

  • Sample collection

    In this activity, we will be exploring the process of sample collection, including transportation, and what happens on arrival at the Drugs Control Centre (DCC) laboratories.

  • Weekly wrap-up

    In this final activity of the week we summarise the process so far, check in on our athletes and review some of the key points of learning.

• Week 2

  Pre-analysis, screening methods, instruments and drug categories

  • Welcome to week 2

    This activity introduces you to the week ahead, and we revisit our athletes to see how they got on at The Global Games. Week 2 covers the type of tests undertaken on the samples received from our athletes.

  • Quality control

    This activity sets out the context of the quality system within which screening and testing take place.

  • Urine screening and testing process

    This activity explores approaches to the screening and testing of urine samples.

  • The science behind screening and testing

    This section gives you a more detailed look into urine screening and testing procedures. We'll introduce you to some of the main scientific processes and principles used to analyse and interpret samples by our trained scientists.

  • Initial test results

    In this activity, we look at the interpretation of the initial urine screen for our athletes and see what our analysis reveals.

  • Weekly wrap up

    In this activity, we recap on where our athletes are now and reflect on the learning key points of the week.

• Week 3

  The science behind immunoassays test and how they are used in anti-doping laboratories

  • Welcome to week 3

    We revisit our athletes to see how they have been impacted by the results of their drugs tests and look ahead to what we will be covering in week 3.

  • Misuse of growth hormones

    In this activity, you will meet our laboratory operations manager and you will find out more about growth hormones and their use in performance enhancement.

  • Blood doping

    Blood doping is banned by WADA. In this activity, we will look at different ways in which the Drug Control Centre detects doping in blood.

  • Athlete biological passport (ABP) and the athlete profile management unit (APMU)

    In this activity, you will explore the different elements of the athlete biological passport (ABP) which is, in part, a long-term approach to identifying blood doping.

  • Results and adverse analytical findings

    In this activity, we look at the results of the analysis and discuss what happens next for our four athletes in light of their results.

  • Weekly wrap up

    This activity summarises the week and looks at it in the context of a few case studies.

• Week 4

  Catching the cheats: review of real life doping cases and the dark side of sport

  • Welcome to week 4

    In this activity, we introduce the final week of our course, have a brief recap on what we have covered so far and check in with our four athletes from the Global Games.

  • Case studies

    In this activity, we look at some case studies where the testing process has helped remove athletes who use substances to achieve results that would otherwise be beyond their capabilities.

  • Update on our athletes

    In this activity, we review the laboratory findings of our athletes and reflect upon the reasons for doping in sport.

  • Future directions and research

    In this activity, we look at long-term storage and the concept of retrospective testing and future directions for the anti-doping field.

  • Course wrap-up

    In this activity, we summarise and conclude the course.