Scientific Research

Program Details

We promote and fund scientific research projects on these and other topics:

• Development or optimization of analytical tools for the detection of doping substances or methods

• Growth of the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP)
• Pharmacology of prohibited substances or drug combinations

We prioritize projects with direct and imminent applicability (including human studies where relevant) in our efforts towards clean sport. Therefore, we rarely fund basic research projects. We encourage applicants to submit translational research beyond the discovery stage, and the proposed projects should aim for concrete deliverables by the end of the funding period.

Funded Scientific Research

Since 2001, we have committed more than US$88 million to helping researchers around the world develop breakthroughs in anti-doping science. These grants are critical because they increase the volume of research dedicated to developing new and improved detection methods for performance-enhancing substances and methods and attract researchers with fresh ways of thinking.

Since 2001, WADA has funded projects in the following areas:

1. Compounds/Methods enhancing growth
2. Compounds/Methods enhancing oxygen delivery
3. Exogenous and endogenous anabolic steroids
4. Detection of prohibited substances/methods: classic methodologies e.g. chromatographic, immunological and biochemical
5. Gene and cellular technologies applied to sports
6. Identification and detection of substances with doping potential
7. Pharmacology of prohibited substances

2025 Call for Proposals

Consult the scientific research topics in the 2025 Call for proposals. Details about application and review processes are given in the application guidelines for scientific research grants. Applications have to be submitted through WADA Grants. 

Expressions of Interest (EOIs) are accepted all year-round. EOIs will go through an initial review process prior to selected research teams being invited to submit a full application. Three cycles of EOIs and full applications review are scheduled annually, to correspond to WADA’s Executive Committee meetings, during which funding decisions are made. 

Important deadlines for the 2025 Call are shown below. 

Deadlines for the 2025 cycles:  

* This deadline has been updated, aligning it with the WADA Executive Committee meeting date. 

Members of WADA’s Science & Medicine Department hosted a webinar in November to provide a detailed explanation of the new process. 

For further information, please contact our Science & Medicine Department. 

Contact the department via email

Special Topics for Scientific Research Funding

To complement the annual call for proposals, WADA invites researchers to submit expressions of interest (EOI) throughout the year using the WADA Grants platform.

Open topics are listed here, with links to more detailed requests for applications where relevant. 

Please take note that there are no open Special Topics at the moment