Olympic Athletes & Health: Excellence, Ethics and Performance in the Modern Games

RSVP to Attend in Person

Join us Tuesday, April 21, from 11:30am-1pm PT in USC's Heritage Hall (Bashor Lounge) for a timely conversation exploring the evolving relationship between elite athletic performance, athlete health, and global well-being in the lead-up to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

As victories are increasingly decided by fractions of a second, athletes face extraordinary physical, psychological, and ethical pressures. This symposium brings together Olympic leaders and scientific experts to examine how excellence can be pursued without compromising long-term health, fairness, or the spirit of sport.

Olympic gold medalist Katerina Stefanidi, Greece’s most decorated female athlete, will serve as the connective voice across the panel by reflecting on her lived experience of competing at the highest level while navigating injury, recovery, mental resilience, and the responsibility of representing the Olympic ideal. Her perspective will connect the scientific, ethical, and human dimensions of performance shared by the panel.

She will be joined by:

• Dr. Alexis Brown, PharmD, embedded sports pharmacist with USC Athletics, who will discuss the critical role pharmacists play in protecting athlete health — from navigating anti-doping regulations and therapeutic use exemptions to evaluating supplements and preventing inadvertent doping. Her perspective highlights the balance between short-term performance pressures and long-term athlete well-being.
• Dr. Lorena Martin, Director of the Trojan Sports Research Lab and Assistant Professor of Clinical Data Sciences and Operations at the USC Marshall School of Business, who will explore how performance analytics, recovery science, and integrated medical decision-making are reshaping modern athletics. Her work demonstrates how data can enhance readiness, reduce injury risk, and support athlete longevity.
• Dr. Vassilios Papadopoulos, Dean of the USC Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, an internationally recognized scientific leader, and an expert on steroid hormone research, who will provide insight into emerging biological substances in sport, including the growing amateur use of peptides such as BPC-157. His remarks will address the scientific, regulatory, and ethical implications of innovation at the edge of performance.

The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Kari L. Franson, Senior Associate Dean at the USC Mann School of Pharmacy, Director of the USC Mann Sports Pharmacy Program, and a pioneer in the field of sports pharmacy. Together, the panel will explore athlete longevity, injury prevention, performance-enhancing drugs and banned substances, data-driven health strategies, and the evolving responsibilities of athletes as advocates for healthier societies.

Grounded in the enduring Olympic values of excellence, respect, fairness, and human development, the program invites reflection on how modern science, ethical leadership, and athlete advocacy can strengthen communities locally and globally as the world turns its attention to the 2028 Games. The event continues the Olympic Ideals Series, co-hosted by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy and the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles.

RSVP to Attend in Person

This program is open to all eligible individuals. USC Annenberg operates all of its programs and activities consistent with the University’s Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.