The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has appointed Dr. Cornelius E. Uboh as Laboratory Director of the USEF Equine Research and Testing Laboratory in Lexington, KY.
Prior to accepting the position with the USEF, Uboh served for 27 years as the Bureau Director of the Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology and Research Laboratory in West Chester, Pa. He was also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Pharmacy in the Department of Clinical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine at the New Bolton Center campus. Uboh has authored and co-authored over 100 publications and has presented papers at numerous national and international conferences. Notably, Uboh, along with Dr. Lawrence R. Soma, VMD, led the efforts to develop and establish the world's first-ever method for confirming blood-doping agents in racehorse serum, commonly known as EPO.
"Dr. Uboh's knowledge, experience, and reputation globally made the decision to appoint him an easy one," said Dr. Stephen Schumacher, Chief Administrator of the USEF Drugs and Medications program. "He will be an asset to our Drugs and Medications program and is well-respected in the industry." Schumacher also noted that in 2012, Uboh was one of a select few in the thoroughbred industry invited to speak at the hearing of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, supporting federal legislation to ban race-day medication in horses, known as the Interstate Horseracing Improvement Act.
"Dr. Uboh has been involved in meaningful breakthroughs in detecting doping in racehorses. We believe that his focus on sport horses will lead to new revelations that will help eradicate doping in our sport and strengthen the integrity of our sport in the United States," said Bill Moroney, USEF Chief Executive Officer.
"I look forward to helping solve the issues that confront the sport horse industry in the United States," said Uboh. "Intentional cheaters use substances that are undetectable through current testing protocols. We will change that. We will focus on identifying substances that are rife with potential for abuse and develop protocols for detecting those substances."
Uboh will begin his role effective immediately.
Photo © Dirk Caremans
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