Professor Patrick Wheeler will lead the BISFed Anti-Doping Committee ©Getty Images

Professor Patrick Wheeler has been appointed Boccia International Sports Federation (BISFed) chief medical officer and chair of the organisation's Anti-Doping Committee.

BISFed has also welcomed Leila Marques, Jake Pearson and Wanda Ricou to its Therapeutic Use Exemptions Sub-Committee.

Wheeler, a British doctor, specialises in sport and exercise medicine and holds a clinical professorship at Loughborough University. 

He previously worked with Britain's Paralympic team as a medical officer at Rio 2016, London 2012 and Beijing 2008.

BISFed will have a new chair of its Anti-Doping Committee for the first time since 2013 ©Getty Images
BISFed will have a new chair of its Anti-Doping Committee for the first time since 2013 ©Getty Images

The Anti-Doping Committee chair role was previously held by Jaime Antunes, who has now chosen to retire after leading the panel since 2013. 

BISFed was formed in 2012 and has its headquarters in St Albans in Britain. 

Boccia first featured at the Paralympics in 1984, with South Korea the most successful nation in the sport's Paralympic history with 10 gold medals.

The sport will feature again at the next Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024.