Cheats or Champs? The use of Drugs in Sport A special event for Chemistry Week. With Ray Kaslauskas and Graham Trout, Director and Deputy-Director, respectively, of the Australian Sports Drug Testing Laboratory (ASDTL) of the Australian Government Analytical Laboratories (AGAL). With the Sydney Olympics looming, we discuss the science and issues behind drug testing. Compered by Alf Conlon. Wednesday, June 28th 2000, 7:00-9:00pm Harlequin Inn, 152 Harris Street, Pyrmont, Sydneys Graham Trout was born on Michelango's birthday, albeit a few years later, and was obviously destined for greatness.  Unfortunately he chose chemistry as a career and ruined any chances of that.  He studied at Sydney University and developed a liking for tinkering with scientific instruments.  He worked in industrial research and development for some years helping to improve both the food you eat and the newspaper you throw away the scraps in.  He then moved to teaching chemical instrumentation at TAFE, but in our bicentennial year moved back to the laboratory by joining the Australian Government Analytical Laboratory where the instruments were bigger and more numerous.  His main joy was in buying and playing with the latest mass spectrometers and analysing the occasional sample.  He is currently in charge of the Olympics Research Programme with the aim of having the latest drug testing techniques in place for the Sydney Olympics. This of course has involved the purchase of and tinkering with more mass spectrometers. Ray Kaslauskas studied organic chemistry at the University of Sydney.   He held a post doctorate position in Cambridge, with Professor Battersby working on morphine and morphine related natural product biosynthesis.  He came back to Sydney to join the Roche Research Institute of Marine Pharmacology and had a wonderful 8 years doing marine natural products chemistry as a multidiciplinary study.  They sacked everyone there in 1981 and so Ray went temporarily went to work as a Research Fellow at the RSC in Canberra.  He then headed back to Sydney University Pharmacology Department as part of an NH&MRC grant into the investigations of GABA analogues.  In 1986 he joined the Australian Government Analytical Laboratories in charge of R&D and in 1988 took charge of the Drugs in Sport section and established it as an IOC accredited Laboratory.  At ASDTL we have undertaken the analysis of all national samples and those of New Zealand and surrounding lands for ten years.  We analyse for the substances banned by the IOC, information on which can be found at  http://www.olympic.org/ . The planning for the Olympic Games goes back to about 1992 which is pre-bid days.  We gave advice to the bid committee and when "the winner is Sidney" was announced moved to assisting with the Olympic Games.  ASDTL has thus developed a lot of experience and over the last 3 years undertaken a fair amount of research to allow us to provide a testing programme which will keep sport in Australia as clean as possible.         True to the tradition of Science in the Pub, both Alf and Simon have presented their `abstract' in verse... From Graham... Twere the months before Opening and all through the land Scientists are straining to meet the demand Pollies and bureaucrats were tearing their hair Wanting new tests to keep the Games fair Recombinant hormones were all the go With top marks to growth hormone and EPO Athletes and others were interested too With AGAL, AIS and SOCOG to name just a few The money and acronyms flowed thick and fast With much to be done ere September had passed New staff were put on to cope with the loads With many long hours away from abodes Overseas colleagues Stray-Gundersen, Gareau and Audran Were called on to help as much as they can Volunteers were sought to be injected and bled Many came forward and none ended up dead The clock is still ticking with not long to go A committee in Switzerland will say yes or no   And from Ray... There was a man who cried "the winner is Sidney" and a nation applauded and shouted with glee. But to drugs they said NO! our medals must glow, No positive samples at all must there be. So while you at home watching TV With bickies and beer winners to see, our little group won't give a poop as all we will have is buckets of pee. And you all will wonder what is amiss it all not sweetness and bliss when media go mad saying sport is all bad from results we divined from some poor fools piss. The cynics amongst you will say where's EPO we want buckets of blood also to flow. But never to fear a test is quite near To allow cheats to later play Pinnoccho   Science in the PubTM is an initiative of the Australian Science Communicators (NSW). Regular sessions are staged from 7.00-9.00 pm on the last Wednesday of every even month (Feb - Nov) at the Harlequin Inn, 152 Harris Street, Pyrmont in Sydney. We can organise Science in YOUR Pub anywhere in Australia, or the world! Please contact Robyn Stutchbury, phone: 02 9427 6747; fax: 02 9427 6767; email: mailto:rstutch@bigpond.net.au  Visit our website at http://www.scienceinthepub.com/.  Admission costs $5 worth of raffle tickets, your chance to win one of many excellent prizes! Future Science in the Pub sessions (see the website for full details) Thursday 13 July, Hotel Canobalos, Orange, NSW. 'Is Palaeontology a Dead Science?'. A special event for the Paleontology Downunder 2000 conference program, and geared especially to high school teachers preparing for the Earth and Environmental Science syllabus now being taught in NSW schools. Discusses fossils and their relevance to the modern world, through what they tell us about biodiversity, evolution and extinctions through the Earth's past. Wednesday 30 August, Harlequin Inn, Sydney, in collaboration with the Australian Biotech Association. Medicines for the next Millennium: natural or engineered? A discussion on the future of medicine.
Science in the Pub™, © 2000. Stutchbury, R, Burton, M.