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Nuclear Medicine
Smiling proudly are Dr Gerrit Engelbrecht, Head of the UFS Department of Nuclear Medicine, Dr Tebatso Tebeila, senior resident in the same department, and Prof Osayande Evbuomwan, Senior Lecturer and medical specialist in nuclear medicine in the Department of Nuclear Medicine, with the certificate indicating they are now a Clinical Theranostics Centre of Excellence.

The Department of Nuclear Medicine at the Universitas Academic Hospital (UAH) and the University of the Free State (UFS) have been certified as Clinical Theranostics Centers of Excellence from the International Centers for Precision Oncology Foundation (ICPO). The hospital now joins only two other centres in South Africa to achieve this prestigious recognition.

The certification followed a rigorous evaluation process by the ICPO Foundation, which assessed the department’s clinical standards, infrastructure, expertise, and commitment to advancing theranostics. The application and verification process was done by Dr Tebatso Tebeila, a senior resident at the department who has just passed her final exams. She was supported by Dr Gerrit Engelbrecht, Head of the UFS Department of Nuclear Medicine, in the process which included interviews with the ICPO accreditation and projects director Dr Marwa Hakkam. Dr Tebeila had also completed the ICPO short course in Radiomolecular Precision Oncology through the ICPO Academy of Theranostics.

The UAH Nuclear Medicine Department began theranostics activities about five years ago, particularly in neuroendocrine and prostate malignancies. Prof Osayande Evbuomwan, Senior Lecturer and medical specialist in nuclear medicine in the UFS Department of Nuclear Medicine, received training for this during his residency period and had completed a rigorous international training workshop organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency on theranostics, particularly in prostate cancer, neuroendocrine neoplasms and well differentiated thyroid cancer. Prof Evbuomwan passed all these training and skills down to the department. The certification was further strengthened by the installation of department’s new state-of-the-art digital PET/CT camera, placing it on par with similar academic departments in the country. The recognition was officially conferred during the ICPO Reception at the European Association of Nuclear Medicine Congress in Barcelona earlier this month.  

 

A milestone achievement

“Being granted this certification signifies international recognition of our hospital’s commitment to the highest clinical, academic, and ethical standards in theranostics. It confirms that our institution meets the global benchmarks for delivering precision oncology care that integrates diagnostics and therapy for personalised cancer management.

“For our department and the University of the Free State, this is a milestone achievement that highlights our leadership in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. It strengthens our research and training capacity and also attracts residents who want to be trained in nuclear medicine. It also enhances collaboration with international partners and aligns with our mission to advance precision medicine in South Africa and beyond,” says Prof Evbuomwan.

Theranostics, he explains, is an aspect of nuclear medicine that involves the use of a tracer bound to a radioisotope that can specifically locate and image cancer cells with high precision, characterise them and determine how much radiation will get to them. Using the same tracer, but a different radioisotope for therapy, these cancer cells are targeted with high precision and destroyed. It could be so precise that it targets only the cancer, sparing most of the normal tissue and thus resulting in less serious side effects. It is an aspect of nuclear medicine that is bound to revolutionise cancer care.

Dr Gerrit Engelbrecht says as a department, they are honoured and deeply proud of this achievement as it reflects months of dedication, innovation, and teamwork. “It validates our commitment to excellence in improving patient care and academic advancement, and we are motivated to build on this success. We are also grateful to Dr Tebeila for her initiative, hard work, dedication and networking skills.

“We would like to thank the ICPO Foundation for this recognition and for its continued efforts to support theranostics in developing regions. We also acknowledge the hard work of our staff, and partners who made this possible. This milestone inspires us to continue driving innovation and equitable access to precision oncology in Bloemfontein, the Free State province and South Africa at large.”

 

Forefront of precision oncology 

According to Prof Evbuomwan, patients will also benefit from this certification as it translates to improved access to world-class, and evidence-based theranostic management. It means earlier diagnosis, more accurate therapy selection, and ultimately, better treatment outcomes and quality of life for those with some of these cancers. They strongly believe the patients in the Free State also deserve access to this management, as the world is now moving slowly into the era of personalised and precision medicine. The Universitas Academic Hospital is now among three centres in South Africa (Numeri in SBAH Pretoria and Umhlanga Molecular Imaging and Therapy Centre in Durban) to achieve this prestigious recognition, joining an international network of 46 centres, mostly located in low- and middle-income countries. This positions the UFS at the forefront of precision oncology on the African continent.

Prof Evbuomwan says they hope to use this new status to expand patient access to theranostic treatments, foster multidisciplinary collaborations within the Universitas academic circuit, and participate in global research initiatives through the ICPO Academy for Theranostics. Certifications like this, he continues, would also help to attract more staff and junior resident doctors to the facility. It will also help them train the next generation of nuclear medicine specialists and strengthen South Africa’s role in precision oncology. The ICPO will also offer direct assistance to the facility to achieve these objectives.

On her trip to the EANM Congress in Barcelona to receive the certificate and to attend the international congress, Dr Tebeila said it is always such an honour to attend international conferences and this year’s EANM was particularly invigorating with the latest scientific presentations in various theranostic applications by peers and well-known experts in the global nuclear medicine sphere. 

“The highlight was, of course, attending the annual Oncidium Foundation Ambassadors meeting and being part of the ICPO certification ceremony along with my counterparts from 23 other centres spanning Asia, Arab regions and Africa. 

“My wish is to see the UAH nuclear medicine department grow in leaps and bounds, epically in patient reach, clinical research with academic expansion and overall excellence in service delivery. This ICPO theranostics centre of excellence certification is only the beginning of what is to come.”

News Archive

Official opening ceremony of the UFS Qwaqwa Campus
2006-02-15

Official opening ceremony of the UFS Qwaqwa Campus
11th February 2006 – Multipurpose Hall

Opening Speech:
Prof. Peter A. Mbati
Campus Principal

Successfully rising to the challenges of incorporations and mergers – developing a vibrant and academically stimulating satellite campus of the University of the Free State.

Thank you Mr. Program Director and good morning ladies and gentlemen.

I wish to once again welcome all of you to the official opening ceremony of the University of the Free State QQ campus.  Thank you for taking time to share with us an important date in our campus academic calendar.  I bring you greetings from our Rector and Vice Chancellor Prof. Frederick Fourie.

During such occasions we try and reflect on important matters that have affected us as an institution in the preceding year, commit ourselves to specific objectives for the current year, while planning for the proceeding year.

Today I shall be talking on Successfully rising to the challenges of incorporations and mergers – developing a vibrant and academically stimulating satellite campus of the University of the Free State’.

SRC inauguration
I would like to congratulate the SRC President and the entire SRC leadership for being elected into important positions of student leadership and authority. 

As a university we are proud of the quality of our student leadership on the Qwaqwa campus.  I am confident that you young leaders will rise to the challenges of your office and discharge your duties with diligence and without fear or favour.  That you will rise above your party affiliations and provide effective leadership to the entire student body on campus.
                              
Leadership is complex and requires you to be objective, just and fair in your approach to the many challenges that you will encounter.  You will be judged not by the populist decision that you take when confronted with difficult choices, but rather, on the wisdom that you exercise in reaching consensus in decision making processes.

The era when management and student leadership viewed each other with suspicion and as adversaries is long gone.  Management, academic and administrative staff, parents and students must have common agendas in as far the  quality growth and development of our university is concerned and to strive towards academic excellence.  I leave the challenge to you students, and more so to the inaugurated student leaders to define your agenda in achieving this noble objective.  I trust that you will make the right choices.

Brief history of incorporation
On the recommendations of the National Working Group of Higher Education, the Qwaqwa Campus of the then University of the North was incorporated into the University of the Free State on 1st January 2003.  We suddenly had to move from a campus that was originally semi-autonomous and with its own culture developed over almost 20 years, into a campus that had to operate as a fully integrated campus of the UFS, a 100 year old institution with its distinct culture.

Following incorporation, we not only had to continue with our core business of teaching, learning, research and community service, but we also had to engage in other important aspects such as exploring the most appropriate models of governance for the campus, encouraging dialogue and interactions at all levels between personnel at the different campuses with a view to developing trust between colleagues. And with the added dimensions such as participation in the transformation task team we in effect are at the fore front of developing a new institutional culture at the UFS and a truly South African University.

UFS Strategic objectives
The strategic and transformation priorities of the University of the Free State for 2006 – 2008 as approved by the Executive Management at its retreat in January 2006 are:

  • Quality and Excellence
  • Equity, diversity and redress
  • Financial sustainability
  • Regional co-operation and engagement

Central to this priority is the integration of the Qwaqwa campus as a valuable constituent part of the UFS, and the strategic reconfiguration of the campus in order that the UFS can play a meaningful role in regional engagement and development.

  • National leadership

The five strategic objectives cannot be viewed in isolation and run simultaneously and in concert with each other. 

The Question must therefore be what we on the QQ campus, staff and students, parents and our broader community are willing to do to achieve these strategic objectives. The reconfiguration and strategic planning of this campus, and therefore its success, must be a collaborative effort between colleagues at QQ and on the main campus.  We must all be ready to work together, to plan together, to shoulder responsibilities together and sometimes, to share the pain and disappointments together. 

The second question must therefore be: are we prepared to go that extra mile for our campus to ensure that we claim our rightful stake within the ranks of well respected academic institutions of higher learning in this country?  At this point in its history this campus requires committed men and women from across the cultural spectrum who appreciate the challenges ahead of us and who are ready to give of their best and to constructively engage at all levels to make this dream a reality.  Because this dream is possible and this dream will be realized!

Quality and Excellence (1st strategic objective)

As mentioned by the Rector in his speech at the official opening ceremony of the university on the main campus on Friday 3rd February, the university will in 2006 pay extra attention to Quality and Excellence.  This is informed by the Higher Education Quality Committee’s (HEQC) institutional audit which is scheduled to take place this year.  Our university as well as several other HEI’s will be subjected to this audit.  This will call for a lot of hard work on your part in preparation for a successful audit and in this regard therefore I request for your cooperation.

As a further step in confirming our commitment to quality and excellence, we have simultaneously introduced on the QQ campus and the main campus workshops on performance management systems to a cohort group.  This will be expanded in 2006 to a wider group of managers on the QQ campus to include among others all Program Heads and Subject Heads. PMS is an invaluable tool for fair, effective and efficient management of a very important resource on campus – the human resource.  Benefits of PMS include among others:

  • Instilling and enriching a culture of performance management (quality assurance) as an integral part of the day to day functioning of staff at the campus
  • Improving staff performance through mentoring, development and training

Tri campus project
One of the more important projects that we as a university undertook in 2005 was the Tri Campus Project which was coordinated by the Free State Higher Education Consortium (FSHEC) through Niel Butcher and Associates consultants.

The Tri-Campus project focused on the strategic planning for higher education campuses in the Free State that have been incorporated with UFS and CUT during the reshaping of the South African higher education landscape. The Bloemfontein Vista campus and the Qwaqwa campus of the University of the North were incorporated with the UFS, and the Welkom Vista campus with the CUT.

The planning process involved a range of research and consultation activities during the course of 2005. This included:

  • Conducting situational analyses of the Qwaqwa campus during which staff and students were widely consulted;
  • Consulting with the campus and with a range of stakeholders in the sub-region
  • Review of the Free State Provincial Growth and Development Strategy and Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) of the regions and other research of relevance to the sub-regions, province and country.

An operational framework for the reconfiguration of the campus with a range of possible Program Qualification Mixes has been produced.  In December 2005, the Rector, the Vice Rector Academic Planning Prof. Magda Fourie and I discussed this document with senior members of the DoE in Pretoria, and we will soon be meeting with the National Minister of Education Me Naledi Pandor for her guidance and to seek support in the further refinement of the document and subsequent implementation.

Recapitalization
This year a further R 6 M has been budgeted for recapitalization.  In about two weeks time the third of phase of renovations on campus will commence and attention will be given to the administration building, the humanities and the outstanding work in the lecture hall complex.  There- after the library, sciences and education buildings will follow.  As you will recall a substantial portion of the R 8.4 million in 2005 was used to upgrade the student residences and the lecture hall complex.

I am certain that the renovations and upgrading of our infrastructure and physical facilities including landscaping will create an enabling environment for you to enjoy your work and studies on this campus.

Renovations come with some measure of inconveniences and I therefore wish to request for your patience and support during this period.

Closing remarks
There is a heightened spirit of optimism on what the future holds for this campus.  This is evident when I talk to a large cross section of staff and students of this campus – and I therefore invite all of you to come and be partners with us on this journey of optimism and hope of what the future holds for the UFS – QQ campus.

Thank you and God bless!

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