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A delegation led by Professor Uğur Erdener, IOC Member and Chair of the IOC’s Medical and Scientific Commission, and Dr Richard Budgett OBE, Olympian and IOC’s Medical and Scientific Director, will be visiting the university’s Anti-Doping Research laboratories in Eastbourne on 29 March.

Athletes, sports fans and officials from around the world are expected to view a two-hour seminar on the day via a livestream. Members of the public can attend an open meeting at Hillbrow Lecture Theatre, Hillbrow, Eastbourne, from 12 noon to 2pm.

The IOC officials will be meeting Professor Yannis Pitsiladis, who is at the forefront of a new test that he is confident will prove a more effective way to catch cheats.

Instead of looking for traces of illegal drugs in urine and blood samples, Professor Pitsiladis, the university’s Professor of Sport and Exercise Science, is studying RNA or Ribonucleic acid which together with DNA and proteins are essential for all forms of life. And he has discovered drugs can leave a tell-tale signature in RNA.

Professor Yannis Pitsiladis

Professor Pitsiladis said: “The visit by the IOC and some of our sponsors is a great opportunity for the university to showcase our excellent research and research facilities.”

Also attending will be Dr Lars Engebretsen, the IOC’s Head of Medical Sciences, Dr Paul Dimeo, who researches drug use in sport and anti-doping policy, and anti-doping experts from around the world.

The seminar will focus on the doping reality and novel solutions will be debated. There will also be a tour of university laboratories including a purpose built state-of-the-art anti-doping facility.