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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.

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Manuel Castillo Book Prize goes to Prof Melanie Walker
2014-05-15



Prof Melanie Walker

Prof Melanie Walker from our Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development (CRHED) and Alejandra Boni from the Technical University of Valencia in Spain makes for a potent writing combination. Their book, Human Development and Capabilities: Re-imagining the University of the twenty-first Century, has won the 2014 Spanish Manuel Castillo Book Prize. This in the category of a Published University Research Monograph.

The aim of this prize is to stimulate academic, scientific and journalist research in the fields of cooperation, peace and human development. And this is precisely what underpins their book.

The content encourages the reader to re-imagine the role of the university and its potential for transformative ends. It urges the creation of better societies while acknowledging contemporary social and economic challenges. It shows how universities might advance human equalities and how these institutions can contribute to sustainable and democratic societies.

In her acceptance speech, Professor Walker noted that “the book is pioneering in its linking universities to human development in an age where globally human capital and economic growth approaches dominate higher education policy.” She noted that the human capital argument is by no means settled – an increased focus on economic growth only contributes to growing inequalities. “We hope the book will challenge and add to debating the purposes of universities,” Prof Walker said.

Not only was this trans-continental collaboration an intellectual and personal joy for Prof Walker, but it has served as a springboard to further research and more writing together with Alejandra Boni.


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