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18 April 2024 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Charl Devenish
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), received the first clinical PhD in nuclear medicine completed at the UFS at the April graduation ceremonies.

Dr Osayande Evbuomwan, Senior Lecturer and Medical Specialist in the Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, at the University of the Free State (UFS), graduated with the first clinical PhD in nuclear medicine completed at the UFS.

He graduated on Thursday (18 April 2024) at the university’s autumn graduation ceremonies when the Faculty of Health Sciences conferred degrees on its graduation class of 2024.

Dr Evbuomwan, the man behind his department using Lutetium 177 PSMA (Lu-177 PSMA) therapy and now Actinium 225 PSMA therapy to treatment metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (MCRPC) – an advanced stage prostate cancer, said his PhD is about using a special radiopharmaceutical called Technetium 99m ECDG to detect active disease in the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

More opportunities for similar degrees

This research has won him the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) International Best Abstract Award for South Africa during last year’s SNMMI 2023 Annual Meeting in the US.

“I am very grateful, and at the same time, proud about this achievement (his PhD). This qualification will definitely give more opportunities for further similar degrees at the department. So yes, I feel very happy and fulfilled.

“Rheumatoid arthritis is a debilitating disease with associated morbidity that can lead to serious joint deformity and destruction. The need for an investigation with a very high diagnostic accuracy in detecting active disease is needed, especially in the detection of subclinical disease. Few prior studies in the literature had shown promising results with Tc 99m ECDG imaging in this regard. So, we decided to conduct a proper prospective study to test this hypothesis,” says Dr Evbuomwan.

This research, he explains, was also 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. This aspect of the study concluded that this particular radiopharmaceutical (Tc – 99m ECDG) 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 was the first prospective study to assess the prognostic value of this radiopharmaceutical in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, Dr Evbuomwan says.

Researching theranostics in the future

According to him, he had a smooth journey to completing his PhD – something he contributes to support from the fantastic team of three supervisors, the assistant who prepared the radiopharmaceutical, the rheumatology department, the radiographers and nurses at the Department of Nuclear Medicine, and most importantly, his wife and two daughters.

His passion for research, growth and the practice of nuclear medicine were his major motivators on this journey.

Dr Evbuomwan is currently looking at the possibility of starting research on theranostics. The only stumbling block for now, he says, is that the department still does not have a PET/CT camera, as this is very vital in today’s nuclear medicine practice. However, together with the Free State Department of Health, they are working hard to secure one.

“I now want to focus on nuclear medicine therapy and its promotion. This includes both imaging and treatment (theranostics) of certain cancers, most especially prostate cancer, neuroendocrine neoplasms, thyroid cancers and the neuroectodermal tumours. I also want to focus on being involved with the training of more registrars at the department of nuclear medicine and increasing the awareness of nuclear medicine amongst colleagues in the Free State,” says Dr Evbuomwan about his future plans. 

News Archive

Business Management students scoop Tata Africa Scholarship awards
2016-12-09

Description: Tata Africa Tags: Tata Africa 

From left: Mr Harneet Luther, Nomcebo Langa
(first-place winner), Palesa Makhetha and Dr Johan van Zyl.

Tata Africa celebrated the class of 2016 of the Department of Business Management at the University of the Free State (UFS) on 1 December 2016 on the Bloemfontein Campus. As part of the company’s Postgraduate Scholarship Programme, 11 academically and financially deserving students will have their postgraduate studies sponsored in 2017.

The scholarship programme was initiated by the Department of Business Management in 2012, in collaboration with Tata Africa. The aim is to provide final-year Strategic Marketing students an opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge by developing practical marketing strategies for any one of the Tata Group companies operating in Africa.

Students were invited to present their ideas to a panel of UFS and Tata Africa representatives, who selected the category winners. The categories were for the Tata Bakkies, Jaguar vehicles, Tata Chemicals in Magadi, Kenya, and Land Rover vehicles, intended to enhance the business’ competitive edge. The top three winners were Nomcebo Langa, Internal Marketing; Johan Nel, #OutPaceThis campaign; and Jesse Heath, Entrepreneurial Development campaign.

Topics covered by the students include target market identification, development of practical marketing strategies (digital and traditional), service strategies, experiential campaigns and application design.  The Executive Director of Tata Africa Holdings, Mr Len Brand, said, “In the course of change in Africa and South Africa, in particular, we are very honoured to inspire young minds to bring innovative marketing solutions to the Tata business. We hope that their creativity will also inspire innovations in business, government, and civil society that will ultimately sell South Africa and Africa as good investment destinations.”  

Dr Johan van Zyl from the Centre for Development Support congratulated the winners and encouraged them to continue on the path of augmenting creativity in business. In presenting the awards, Executive Director of Tata Automobile Corporation SA, Mr Harneet Luther, spoke of the origins of the Tata company, its vision and the level of innovation that its founders had, which was necessary in propelling it to where it is today. He commended the students for their outstanding performance and innovative campaigns. Since 2006, over 250 scholarships have been awarded through the University of the Free State, the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Wits University.

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