Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

International Award for UFS Department of Nuclear Medicine

07 July 2023 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied

A research paper by a Senior Lecturer and Medical Specialist in the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the University of the Free State (UFS) has won the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) International Best Abstract Award for South Africa.

The abstract, by Dr Osayande Evbuomwan, was about evaluating the efficacy of a new nuclear medicine radiopharmaceutical in the identification of active disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. It was selected for this award by a special committee at the recently concluded SNMMI 2023 Annual Meeting, which took place between 24 and 27 June in Chicago, USA.

Dr Evbuomwan received the award at the Annual Meeting on 26 June.

“It is a good feeling, and I am proud of the UFS Department of Nuclear Medicine for pulling this off. It is another example that hard work pays,” he says.

Comparing this radiopharmaceutical to ultrasound

Dr Evbuomwan says the research that generated the award-winning abstract was aimed at finding out if the new nuclear medicine radiopharmaceutical for the identification of active disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis can also offer prognostic information. The study concluded that this particular radiopharmaceutical (Tc – 99m glucosamine) is highly sensitive in identifying synovitis (inflammation of the membrane that protects joints), and is capable of offering prognostic information in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

This is the first prospective study to assess the prognostic value of this radiopharmaceutical in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, Dr Evbuomwan says. He is currently working on comparisons of this radiopharmaceutical to ultrasound and clinical evaluation in the identification of active disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. He says there is also ongoing collaboration with the Rheumatology Division of the Internal Medicine Department, which has played a huge role in making this project fruitful.

“This award is an opportunity to put the department and university on the map, with world stage recognition. We believe that as the Nuclear Medicine Department continues to grow in human resources and equipment, the research output will also increase.”

Dr Gerrit Engelbrecht, Clinical Head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the UFS, says the whole department is very proud of Dr Evbuomwan’s accomplishments. “What makes his award even more remarkable is that he outperformed candidates from much larger, highly funded institutions,” he says.

This department announced last year the successful treatment outcome of a patient with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (MCRPC) – an advanced stage of prostate cancer – by using Lutetium 177 PSMA (Lu-177 PSMA) therapy. This was initially a case of advanced stage prostate cancer, which had failed first-line chemotherapy, leaving little or no other treatment options.

News Archive

Dr Makutoane to present research on world stage in US

2017-06-14

“If the SBL has acknowledged you,
it means the research you are doing
is solid. There are people out there
who want to listen to my paper.”

To present a research paper at an international conference of about 10 000 people and where 100 sessions are taking place at the same time is what dreams are made of for an academic. This is no longer a dream for the humble Dr Tshokolo Makutoane who will share his knowledge at the annual meeting of the prestigious Society of Biblical Literature (SBL).

Dr Makutoane, a senior lecturer at the Department of Hebrew at the University of the Free State (UFS), will be a speaker at the conference in Boston, in the US, from 19-21 November 2017. This after receiving a remarkable travel grant from the SBL to present his paper, titled The Contribution of Linguistic Typology for the Study of Biblical Hebrew in Africa: The Case of Sesotho Pronouns.

Description: Dr Makutoane to present research on world stage in US Tags: Dr Makutoane to present research on world stage in US

Dr Makutoane, senior lecturer at the Department of
Hebrew at the University of the Free State, was
speechless when he heard he will be presenting a
paper at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical
Literature in Boston in the US.
Photo: Jóhann Thormählen

Scholars from around the world participate
His paper is part of a thematic session on “Theoretical Approaches to Anaphora and Pronouns in Biblical Hebrew” in which scholars from Canada, the US, Australia, Europe and Israel will participate.

The research Dr Makutoane will be showcasing in Boston is about teaching Biblical Hebrew in Africa, and more specifically, pronouns, to Sesotho-speaking students.

“SBL is one of the largest organisations in the world and if you get the opportunity to present a paper there, it is one of the highest honours in our context you can have,” Dr Makutoane said.

“If the SBL has acknowledged you, it means the research you are doing is solid. There are people out there who want to listen to my paper.”

According to the SBL website (https://www.sbl-site.org) more than 1 200 academic sessions and workshops will take place at the conference, co-hosted by the SBL and the American Academy of Religion.

Highlight of researcher’s entire career
Receiving the grant and attending the conference for the first time is the highlight of Dr Makutoane’s career. “I feel very grateful, honoured and humbled. I was speechless when I heard about it. I couldn’t help myself and actually cried,” he said.

The grant, given to only four SBL members – the other three are from Samoa, Nigeria and India – is intended to support under-represented and under-resourced scholars who demonstrate a financial need.

Dr Makutoane thanked his mentors, Prof Jacobus Naudé and Prof Cynthia Miller-Naudé, who assisted him with the application. Naudé is a senior professor at the Department of Hebrew and Miller-Naudé a senior professor and head of the department.

Dr Makutoane, who studied Theology at the UFS and is a minister at the NGKA Rehauhetswe church near Bloemfontein, is also grateful to his church that gave him the opportunity to study at the UFS and be able to work at the university.

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept