The Office of Continuing Medical Education at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is partnering with Major League Baseball and the law firm of Foley and Lardner on a landmark summit that will bring together the world's leading anti-doping experts and scholars to explore issues surrounding testing for human growth hormone, or hGH, in sports.
The Nov. 10 event, "Growth Hormone: Barriers to Implementation of hGH in Sports," which will be held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., will spotlight the scientific, medical, legal and ethical issues that must be addressed before human growth hormone testing can be considered a routine part of sports anti-doping measures.
Dr. Gary Green, a professor of family medicine at the Geffen School and a consultant to Major League Baseball (MLB) on performance-enhancing drugs, will chair the conference.
"I am very excited that worldwide experts in analytical chemistry, medicine, law and ethics have agreed to participate in this meeting," Green said. "Testing for hGH is a complex issue, and much progress has been made. The abuse of human growth hormone is a problem that goes beyond professional sports an Internet search to buy hGH provides almost 5 million sites. This conference will address the regulation of hGH as well methods to deter its use. Bringing together experts from multiple specialties is a positive step in addressing this very significant problem."
The summit was spurred by the release in December 2007 of the Mitchell Report, which presented the findings of an independent investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs among professional baseball players.
"After the Mitchell Report, one of my main goals was to bring together the leading anti-doping experts for an hGH summit," said MLB commissioner Allan H. "Bud" Selig. "The effective regulation of hGH remains one of the foremost challenges for anti-doping efforts in all sports. This summit is a significant step forward, and Major League Baseball is pleased that Dr. Green, one of the foremost experts in the field, will head this initiative."
The comprehensive program will focus on understanding the currently available methods for identifying the use of hGH and assessing the viability of urine testing for hGH in the future; building consensus on the most effective methods of implementing widespread blood testing for hGH abuse; identifying future strategies for hGH testing; and understanding laws regarding the regulation and distribution of hGH.
Moutian Wu, who served as the laboratory director for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and now works with the National Anti-Doping Laboratory and the China Anti-Doping Agency, will be one of the principal speakers at the summit.
Other participants in the summit's presentations and panels include:
The Nov. 10 event, "Growth Hormone: Barriers to Implementation of hGH in Sports," which will be held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., will spotlight the scientific, medical, legal and ethical issues that must be addressed before human growth hormone testing can be considered a routine part of sports anti-doping measures.
Dr. Gary Green, a professor of family medicine at the Geffen School and a consultant to Major League Baseball (MLB) on performance-enhancing drugs, will chair the conference.
"I am very excited that worldwide experts in analytical chemistry, medicine, law and ethics have agreed to participate in this meeting," Green said. "Testing for hGH is a complex issue, and much progress has been made. The abuse of human growth hormone is a problem that goes beyond professional sports an Internet search to buy hGH provides almost 5 million sites. This conference will address the regulation of hGH as well methods to deter its use. Bringing together experts from multiple specialties is a positive step in addressing this very significant problem."
The summit was spurred by the release in December 2007 of the Mitchell Report, which presented the findings of an independent investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs among professional baseball players.
"After the Mitchell Report, one of my main goals was to bring together the leading anti-doping experts for an hGH summit," said MLB commissioner Allan H. "Bud" Selig. "The effective regulation of hGH remains one of the foremost challenges for anti-doping efforts in all sports. This summit is a significant step forward, and Major League Baseball is pleased that Dr. Green, one of the foremost experts in the field, will head this initiative."
The comprehensive program will focus on understanding the currently available methods for identifying the use of hGH and assessing the viability of urine testing for hGH in the future; building consensus on the most effective methods of implementing widespread blood testing for hGH abuse; identifying future strategies for hGH testing; and understanding laws regarding the regulation and distribution of hGH.
Moutian Wu, who served as the laboratory director for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and now works with the National Anti-Doping Laboratory and the China Anti-Doping Agency, will be one of the principal speakers at the summit.
Other participants in the summit's presentations and panels include:
- Anthony W. Butch, director of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory
- Dr. Don H. Catlin, founder and director of Anti-Doping Research
- Alan Goldhammer, vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
- Dr. Richard I.G. Holt, professor of diabetes and endocrinology at the University of Southampton School of Medicine (U.K.)
- Dr. Lance Liotta, co-director of the Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine at George Mason University
- Robert D. Manfred Jr., executive vice president for labor relations and human resources for Major League Baseball
- Matthew J. Mitten, professor of law and director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University Law School
- Thomas H. Murray, president and CEO of the Hastings Center
- Dr. Thomas T. Perls, director of the New England Centenarian Study
- Dr. Douglas E. Rollins, executive director of the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory
- Travis T. Tygart, CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)
- Frank D. Uryasz, president of the National Center for Drug-Free Sport.
"USADA welcomes the attention and additional resources that Major League Baseball is committing to this important issue," said the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's Travis T. Tygart. "We are pleased that Major League Baseball invited USADA to participate in this summit, which we hope can serve as a springboard for all of us to further advance our efforts to fight the abuse of hGH in sports."
For more information on the summit and to enroll, visit www.cme.ucla.edu (click on the link for "Full Listing of Courses" and scroll down to "Growth Hormone Summit") or call 310-794-2620. The summit fee of $100 covers registration, a continental breakfast, lunch and the event syllabus.
The summit is open to the media, but media members must have accreditation from Major League Baseball. Contact Richard Levin or Patrick Courtney in MLB's public relations department at 212-931-7878.
For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom.
