The International Network for Doping Research (INDR) will host its 2026 conference at the Department of Public Health at Aarhus University, Denmark, on 20 and 21 August 2026. The conference welcomes scholars who examine doping, enhancement, and anti-doping in their varied cultural, social, political, ethical, and scientific dimensions. INDR supports research that contributes to more informed public debate and a stronger evidence base for sport organisations and policy makers.
In 2026, the main conference theme will be Contested Perspectives on Doping & Anti-Doping. Across past INDR gatherings, scholars and policymakers have repeatedly shown that fairness, risk, cheating, harm, and identity do not follow one universal logic. We have also continued these academic debates in publication forums. These disagreements do not arise by accident: they reflect contrasting historical experiences, unequal access to knowledge and resources, and political interests that elevate some viewpoints over others. By placing this plurality at the center, the 2026 conference invites open debate on emerging and re-emerging issues and promotes a research culture that grows stronger through critical dialogue rather than consensus alone.
Potential topics
- Anti-doping politics across sport, national, and regional contexts
- Athlete voices in relation to surveillance, stigma, addiction, and uncertainty
- Mental health of sanctioned and stigmatized athletes and potential return to elite sport
- Gender testing and control of sex as part of anti-doping practice
- Historical differences in fairness, risk, and authenticity
- Disciplinary debates: medical knowledge, law, sociology, philosophy, history, anthropology
- Scientific evidence under dispute and forms of authority without consensus
- Public narratives in media and the force of scandal or stigma
- Global inequalities in access to science, legal support, and athlete protection
- Negotiation of compliance, legitimacy, and rights in anti-doping systems
- Athlete agency in policy disputes and search for alternatives to current systems
- Follow-up from the 2024 conference on The Enhanced Games and other models that challenge established structures
We also invite proposals that are outside the main themes, and submissions from all disciplines and all regions of the world are welcome.
The registration for the conference is now open and you can register here: https://event.au.dk/events/2026-indr-conference.
As in past years, the registration fee includes the book of abstracts, the conference dinner, two lunches, and refreshments in the coffee breaks.
Submission
If you are planning to present at the conference, you are invited to submit an abstract via email to krieger@ph.au.dk. The abstract should be no longer than 300 words. The deadline for abstract submission is 1 May 2026. We will collaborate with an academic journal again to publish a special issue on our conference.
Questions regarding the conference or abstract submission should be directed to Jörg Krieger (krieger@ph.au.dk) or April Henning (a.henning@hw.ac.uk).
