The ITU Anti-doping Team would like to congratulate the London 2012 Anti-Doping Laboratory for the duration of this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games on WADA granting them accreditation.

According to WADA’s website, “The Laboratory, a satellite laboratory of the WADA-accredited Drug Control Centre at King’s College London, is located in Harlow, Essex in a facility provided to the Olympic and Paralympic Games by pharmaceutical company Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK).

“Achieving WADA accreditation means that the London 2012 Anti-Doping Laboratory will operate to the highest standards of sample analysis during the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said WADA President John Fahey.

“Doping athletes must know that there is a very good chance they will be tested this summer and that everything scientifically possible – and with the assistance of growing intelligence - will be done to make sure that their efforts to cheat are detected by the experts at the laboratory.”

The Laboratory will analyse up to 6250 samples during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. One in every two Olympic athletes will be tested, including all medallists. A team of 150 scientists will carry out the testing under the guidance of Professor David Cowan, Director of the Drug Control Centre at King’s College London.

WADA accreditation is based on two international standards - ISO/IEC 17025, and the International Standard for Laboratories. During the accreditation process the laboratory undergoes a series of rigorous tests to establish its analysis credentials.

The process also involves several site visits from WADA’s Science Department and the ISO/IEC accrediting body prior to the granting of accreditation.

Also, WADA has issued a call for proposals for its 2013 Social Science Research Program after identifying three areas that would benefit from increased scientific knowledge and evidence.

Applicants, who can be from universities, colleges, small businesses, for-profit and not-for-profit organisations, are asked to submit proposals on one of the following three areas:
-  the causes of doping behavior or attitudes about doping, and the factors that influence these behaviors or attitudes
-  developing and evaluating anti-doping intervention
-  improving social science research on doping prevention

The final area concerns the design and validation of measurement tools, testing behavioral models, specific cultural or regional perspectives, and cross-cultural comparisons. Proposals must be submitted no later than July 11, 2012.

All submissions will be evaluated by external peer reviewers, whose recommendations will then be examined by WADA’s Working Group and Education Committee before being presented to WADA’S Executive Committee for approval. WADA will notify all applicants of the results by the end of November, 2012.

Further information regarding the 2013 Social Science Research Grant Program, including the application process, can be found on the WADA website under Application Guidelines here.