Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory in Utah Accredited
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Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory
in Utah Accredited by World Anti-Doping Agency
SALT LAKE CITY— November 30, 2006
The Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory (SMRTL),
located at the University of Utah, has joined an elite group of
laboratories worldwide accredited to test Olympic, Paralympic,
and other amateur and professional athletes for performance-
enhancing and other prohibited drugs.
Board of Directors
Ralph W. Hale, MD SMRTL received accreditation November 1, 2006 from the World
Chair Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), making it one of two laboratories in
the United States qualified to perform this complex and exacting
Richard W. Cohen, MD analytical science. The other facility is at University of California,
Vice Chair Los Angeles (UCLA). SMRTL was co-founded by the National
Football League (NFL) and the United States Anti-Doping Agency
Barry Axelrod
(USADA), with significant financial and operational support from
Treasurer
the University of Utah and the United States Olympic Committee
Kate Hendrickson Borg, CHMM (USOC).
Secretary
The University of Utah was selected in December 2003 as the
Evelyn Ashford site for the development of the laboratory. Shortly thereafter, the
United States Olympic Committee provided a $500,000 start-up
Lawrence Brown, Jr., MD, MPH
grant to help create the lab.
Jean Fourcroy, MD, PhD, MPH
The formal accreditation process is lengthy and thorough. It
Andrew Mecca, Dr PH, MPH involved on-site inspections, compliance with technical
requirements, and the successful analysis of samples that
Annette Salmeen, DPhil contained drugs and metabolites to determine the competency of
the laboratory.
“There are only 34 WADA-accredited labs in the world,” said
Dennis J. Crouch, SMRTL laboratory director and University of
Utah research associate professor in the College of Pharmacy’s
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. “It is an honor for
us to be among the ranks of such an elite group and to be playing
a role in ensuring fair competition as well as protecting the health
of athletes.”
The testing of U.S. Olympic, Paralympic, NFL and other athletes
will now be distributed between SMRTL and UCLA, adding
flexibility and capacity to the country’s anti-doping efforts.
- - more - -
United States Anti-Doping Agency
1330 Quail Lake Loop, Suite 260, Colorado Springs, CO 80906
Tel: 719.785.2000 ■ Fax: 719.785.2001
usada@usantidoping.org ■ www.usantidoping.org
“Earning accreditation as a World Anti-Doping Agency laboratory is a rigorous and exacting
process,” said U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Senior Managing Director Dr. Larry D. Bowers.
“We congratulate Dennis Crouch, Doug Rollins and the staff at the Sports Medicine
Research and Testing Laboratory in Salt Lake City for achieving the level of excellence
required to merit this distinction. It is a great benefit to USADA to have the scientific
expertise of two accredited laboratories at UCLA and the University of Utah."
The NFL began using SMRTL in 2005 to screen players for performance-enhancing drugs.
The NFL does not require WADA accreditation but demands equivalent expertise by the
laboratories it uses in support of its drug control and prevention programs.
“The establishment of this laboratory is a major step forward in the NFL’s ability to monitor
and detect the use of performance-enhancing drugs in its athletes,” said Dr. Bryan Finkle,
forensic toxicologist to the NFL’s programs and President and Chairman of the Board of the
new laboratory. “It enhances the commitment the league has made to address drug misuse
and provides more opportunity for research critical to understanding the medical and
analytical toxicology issues.”
“As we look for ways to intensify our efforts in the fight against doping in sport, having
greater capacity to reliably analyze tests and conduct research is critical,” said U.S. Olympic
Committee Director of Sports Medicine Ed Ryan. “We are proud to have contributed to the
creation of this lab and believe that it will be an important resource in preserving the health
and well-being of athletes and the integrity of sport.”
Drug detection is only part of SMRTL’s mission. The lab also will conduct research into
substances that might be used in the future. In today’s environment, the use of substances
that modify the body’s own biochemistry and mimic natural hormones makes detection a
complex challenge. According to Crouch, the new laboratory will serve as an additional
deterrent to underground sports medicine laboratories.
###
Contacts:
Carla O’Connell, publications and communications director, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, (719)
785-2009, coconnell@usantidoping.org
Greg Aiello, vice president of public relations, National Football League, (212) 450-2067,
aiellog@nfl.com
Chantelle Turner, University of Utah Health Sciences Public Affairs, (801) 581-7387,
chantelle.turner@hsc.utah.edu
Darryl Seibel, United States Olympic Committee Communications, (719) 866-4529,
darryl.seibel@usoc.org
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