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The first clinical PhD in nuclear medicine completed at the UFS

18 April 2024 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Charl Devenish

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

Nat Nakasa the inspiration behind UFS academic’s PhD thesis

2017-01-09

Photo: Supplied

“I’m interested in alternative ways of approaching things, so I wanted to look at how journalism can be used in an unconventional way to contribute to a developing society.”

This is why Dr Willemien Marais, a lecturer in the Department of Communication Science at the University of the Free State (UFS), decided to title her thesis: Nat Nakasa as existential journalist, describing a form of journalism that places emphasis on the individual’s experiences.

“Existentialism is a philosophy that provides scope for an individual approach to life, and I like Nat Nakasa’s writing because of his excellent sense of humour despite his horrific circumstances as a black journalist during apartheid,” she says.

A practical approach to writing

Dr Marais analysed Nat Nakasa’s approach to journalism through articles he wrote in the early 1960s. She searched for relevant themes of existentialist philosophy in Nakasa’s work in order to prove that he could be read as an existential journalist.

She mentions that in terms of contemporary relevance, Nakasa’s approach to journalism suggests that existentialism could provide the journalist with a practical approach to writing, especially for those journalists working in developing societies.

“The relevance of this approach lies in the fact that any society is always between things – the old and the new – which might require the journalist to operate outside the boundaries of conventional journalism.”

This study was qualitative in nature because of the interpretation required. She mentions that it was basically one of many possible interpretations of Nakasa’s work; with this one using existentialism as a lens.

An intellectually stimulating thesis

Dr Marais quotes French existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, who said that interpreting someone’s work, especially someone who was no longer alive, was open to “thousands of shimmering, iridescent, relevant meanings”, and her research represents one of these possible meanings of Nakasa’s work as a journalist.

When asked how long she had worked on her thesis, Dr Marais simply answered “too long!” She mentions that her thesis was initially more of an intellectual exercise. Whereas the actual act of writing took about four months, she spent many years thinking about the topic. “Now that all is said and done, I realise I had to grow into the topic. It took me a while to realise that true understanding does not come overnight!”

Dr Marais mentions that other than herself and the work of Nat Nakasa, there were no other roleplayers involved. “For many, many years it was just Nat Nakasa and I. It was frustrating and exhilarating all at the same time.”

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