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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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Prof Jonathan Jansen recipient of the prestigious Excellence in Education Award
2015-10-19

Prof Jonathan Jansen

Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State (UFS), has been chosen from an exceptionally impressive pool of alumni as one of three inaugural recipients of the Stanford Graduate School of Education’s Excellence in Education Award. 

Not only did Prof Jansen obtain a doctorate degree in 1991 from Stanford University (USA), but also continued his studies there as a Fulbright Scholar from 2007 to 2008. His work as an advocate for intellectual freedom, and in leading the UFS toward racial integration, is widely recognised as a model for higher education. “Prof Jansen’s scholarship on these topics has an international audience and impact, and we are honoured to count him as one of our own,” said Dr Deborah Stipek, Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Education and Professor of Education at Stanford University.

According to Dr Stipek, the Excellence in Education Award signals a critical step in the School’s drive to recognise, and raise the profile of, the transformative work of the alumni. The other two recipients are Helen Kim, Vice-Principal, Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto, California and Carla Pugh, Vice-Chair, Education and Patient Safety, Clinical Director, University of Wisconsin Clinical Simulation Programme.
 
"I think they made a mistake; after all, there have been so many illustrious alumni over the decades. I am, nonetheless, humbled and grateful for this wonderful act of recognition."

Prof Jansen will receive the award on 23 October 2015 at Stanford University in Palo Alto during the Graduate School of Education’s Alumni Award reception.

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