The metabolomic profiling of recombinant erythropoietin in males and females at normoxia and hypoxia

Code: 23E02ABA

The detection of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) remains a continuous challenge for anti-doping authorities world-wide. Direct testing has become more intelligent and efficient, and dishonest athletes are suspected to have moved on to “micro-dosing” strategies to minimize changes in blood markers relevant for current indirect detection methods (athlete biological passport) as well as the windows of detection. The present project aims at detecting micro-doses of rHuEPO via a state-of-the-art metabolomic analysis, where a global analysis of an array of biomarkers will be evaluated in both venous blood samples and dried blood spots, hence identifying possible sensitive and specific targets. The study will be the first to evalute the metabolomic fingerprint in males and females as well as at sea-level and at altitude, the latter which is known to confound rHuEPO detection possibilities.