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07 July 2023 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied
Dr Osayande Evbuomwan
Dr Osayande Evbuomwan, Senior Lecturer and Medical Specialist in the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the University of the Free State (UFS), with his certificate after winning the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) International Best Abstract Award for South Africa.

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

UFS leads international conference
2010-05-13

Here Minister Naledi Pandor is introduced to Prof. Martin Kropff, Rector of the Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands. Looking on are Prof. Aldo Stroebel and Melody Mentz.
– Photo Supplied.
The Third Biannual Conference of the International Network of Research Management Societies (INORMS) was held in Cape Town, South Africa during April 2010. The conference was co-hosted by the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA) and the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). It was the first time that the conference was held in Africa. The conference was attended by more than 400 delegates, representing more than 40 countries around the globe, and was officially opened by Minister Naledi Pandor, Department of Science and Technology (DST). The University of the Free State (UFS) took the lead in organising this event, with Prof. Aldo Stroebel, Vice-President of SARIMA and Director: Internationalisation at the UFS, as Conference President, and Prof. Frans Swanepoel, Director: Research Development at the UFS, as Chairperson of the Programme Committee. Other UFS staff who were members of the organising committee included Melody Mentz (Student Development and Success) and Lise Kriel (Planning Unit). Prof. Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector: Teaching and Learning, participated in a panel discussion on research leadership.

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