MU Professor Available to Discuss the Mitchell Report and Steroids

Dec. 13, 2007

Story Contact:  Bryan C. Daniels, (573) 882-9144, DanielsBC@missouri.edu
Rainer Glaser, (573) 882-0331, GlaserR@missouri.edu

         COLUMBIA, Mo. - All eyes are on Major League Baseball (MLB) today as former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell announces the sport’s alleged steroid users. His findings follow an extensive independent probe examining the use of performance-enhancing drugs in his report of steroid use in MLB.

            As a chemist, Rainer Glaser, a professor at the University of Missouri, understands the various dynamics associated with synthetic materials and drug testing. He said the physical dangers that accompany steroid usage are numerous and not worth the risks.

            "There's a lot of evidence that in the midterm, five to 10 years, there's a high chance of stroke and cancer," he said. "Steroids are very dangerous." 

            Although baseball will be the focus when the Mitchell Report is released, Glaser also said doping affects more than just MLB. 

             "Hopefully, this investigation can help clean up what is purest to most Americans - the sport of baseball," he said. "It's not just a baseball specific problem. It's everywhere in sports - football, cycling, baseball, track and field - everywhere. I'm worried about what the use of steroids does to society and the message it sends to young kids and fans. It's giving people the wrong idea about sports. The consequences are horrible."

            Glaser has been a MU faculty member since 1989. His research focuses on DNA base deamination and cross-link formation, and polar order in crystalline organic molecular materials. Glaser is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.        

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