Léonie Egli, head of research at the World Anti-Doping Agency

At grammar school, I loved languages and science. When I enrolled at UNIL, I decided to study biology. Once I had my bachelor's degree, I always asked myself the big question: "What's next? To find out what this path looked like in practice, I did an internship at the Swiss Laboratory for Doping Analysis. Reassured in my choices, I went on to do a Master's degree in medical biology, followed by a PhD in human physiology, again at UNIL. I wondered how physical exercise could prevent the harmful effects of fructose.

They have of course enabled me to acquire scientific knowledge, but not only that. During my PhD, I learned how to organise myself and work with people from different backgrounds: doctors, laboratory technicians, nursing staff and volunteers from our studies. This was useful for the rest of my career, during which I worked with multicultural and multidisciplinary teams.

I first worked at the Nestlé Research Centre in Lausanne. My job was to evaluate the effects of product reformulation, such as reducing sugar content, on cardiometabolic health. I then spent two years in Singapore helping to develop a research centre there.

I joined the Lausanne office of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2019 to manage a specific project: the development of anti-doping tests using dried blood drops. This type of testing is less intrusive for athletes and makes it easier to transport and store samples. It is now used as a complement to conventional blood and urine samples. As project manager, I coordinate with the partners (national anti-doping organisations and analysis laboratories, among others) to develop the method and adapt the anti-doping rules. Since summer 2022, I have also been helping to coordinate the evaluation of scientific research projects subsidised by WADA.