Osquel Barroso didn't always want to be a scientist. In fact, when he began as a student in Cuba in the mid-1980s, he wanted to study computer science. However, he had to compete for just two open spaces to study mathematics in Germany. In a national competition for one of the spots, he placed fourth.
He went back to Cuba in 1992 after the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union dissolved. When he returned, he had a five-year master's degree in chemistry. Cuba itself was in "complete crisis." Eventually he found a job at the Center for Molecular Immunology in Havana. It was there that he worked on anti-cancer vaccines, prepared vaccine formulas, tested cellular responses in vaccinated patients, and identified drug targets. He says that he didn't choose immunology as his career "consciously." Instead, he was "pushed by life, getting into it slowly."
While he was at the Center for Molecular Immunology, he did well in Cuba's most advanced immunology course. Because of this, he was given permission to go to the UK so that he could pursue a master's degree in immunology at the former Royal Postgraduate Medical School in London, part of Imperial College London. While he was there, Barroso received one of just three scholarships available from the British Council for Cuban students. In 1997 he graduated at the top of his class.
He returned to Cuba thereafter, but he didn't stay long. He loved immunology, so he started his Ph.D. work in the UK in 1998. He got a studentship from Glaxo Wellcome, now known as Glaxo Smith Kline. He spent his first year at the Biopharmaceuticals Centre of Excellence for Drug Discovery near London. There he investigated the use of adenoviruses in gene transfer therapy. Then he worked for three years on transplant rejection mechanisms and T cell activation in the Imperial College of London's Department of immunology.
He completed his Ph.D. in 2002 and stayed at the Imperial College of London for two years of postdoctoral work. He then took a senior scientist position in cancer immunotherapy at Glaxo Smith Kline. After a year there, he took a leadership position heading a 15-person team that worked on autoimmune diseases therapies.
In addition to his love of science, Barroso was also passionate about sports. "If I wasn't a scientist, I would have loved to be an athlete," he said. Because of this, he responded to an ad in April 2006 for his current position as senior manager of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The World Anti-Doping Agency was established in 1999 after a doping scandal ravaged the Tour de France. Currently it supports anti-doping research, has educated coaches and athletes, and has coordinated international anti-doping efforts so that sports are as free as possible from drugs that enhance performance. It has currently helped put anti-doping measures in place for the Beijing Olympics and will continue to monitor anti-doping efforts during the games.
Barroso went to Montreal, to the World Anti-Doping Agency's headquarters in January. He was selected from among more than 80 candidates for the position. He had a broad knowledge of chemistry and immunology, which were very relevant to anti-doping, and his scientific background had both basic and applied sciences, as well as science management in it. The organization's science department director, Olivier Raben, has said that "Barroso is acting as a transversal link between the different [scientific] activities at WADA."
Currently Barroso determines relevant research areas and selects anti-doping research proposals for funding. He also manages some of the projects himself. He was recently among those who contributed to the development of a test meant to identify human growth hormone doping. He brought experts together so they could offer guidance on study design and guarantee the new tests would be appropriate for anti-doping purposes, both legally and scientifically.
He also keeps an up-to-date list of those substances that cannot be used by sports participants without special exemption. He helps accredit anti-doping testing laboratories. He is also responsible for getting research results out to laboratories, international sports federations, and other organizations involved in anti-doping practices.
Because of the arena, this particular scientific pursuit has also developed legal and political ramifications. Science is both accurate and neutral, so the environment in which the science is done has to fit within the general context of anti-doping, according to Barroso. Therefore, anti-doping science has to be presented such that politicians can understand it and the public can as well; this clarification is a very important part of Barroso's job.
As a relatively new science, anti-doping does not yet have a lot of job opportunities. Nonetheless, Barroso believes that anti-doping agencies will have an increasing number of scientists in their ranks over the next five years.
Even so, it's not likely one can plan a career in the field, at least not yet. "None of my colleagues in the science department thought one day that they would work in anti-doping," said Barroso.
In Beijing, anti-doping test laboratories are active in making sure doping does not take place at the Olympics. In part thanks to Barroso's efforts, more substances are being tested for than ever before. Today more than 4,000 urine tests and 600 blood tests have been or will be performed at the Olympics, all covering substances present on the "banned" list. Barroso hopes that this is strong enough a deterrent so that athletes don't come to the Olympics doped. If they do, however, they risk their careers and reputations.
