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21 October 2025 | Story André Damons | Photo André Damons
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

State of our campuses: UFS closes campuses until Friday 28 October 2016 to readjust academic programme
2016-10-15

UFS announces strategy for completion of the 2016 academic year

Agreement between UFS management and student leadership in relation to residences

After almost four weeks of student protests about fees at the University of the Free State (UFS) and the subsequent suspension of the academic programme and closing of campuses, the senior leadership announced on 14 October 2016 a strategy to ensure that students will be able to complete the 2016 academic year.

The university on 13 October 2016 announced that it will shut down its Bloemfontein and South Campuses until 28 October 2016 for crucial and complex arrangements to be put in place to readjust the academic calendar and ensure that all students can complete their studies. The senior leadership did, however, make it clear that the university will not be shutting down for the remainder of 2016.

No teaching and learning activities at undergraduate and honours level will be offered between 17 October and 28 October 2016. The university will re-start teaching and learning at undergraduate and honours level in the first week of November 2016.

However, teaching and learning will not take place in the classrooms during November 2016, but through a different mode of delivery that consists of a combination of printed and recorded lectures, study materials and learning aids that will be provided by the university and delivered through Blackboard. In this manner no attempts at disrupting the rest of the academic year will affect our students’ academic programme. Students, however, will sit for the exam on campus.

Students in residence accommodation can return to campus as from 29 October 2016 and it is recommended that students who do not have off-campus internet access return to campus in order to access study material to complete the academic year.A new timetable for exams is still being developed and will be communicated as soon as the arrangements have been finalised.

Faculties have been differently affected by the loss of teaching time. Some faculties like the Faculty of Law have completed their curriculum, while other faculties like the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences require more teaching time. Some faculties, like the Faculty of Health Sciences, cannot do teaching through alternative modes of delivery.

The needs of the different faculties have been taken into account for developing a rescue plan to complete the 2016 academic year.

  • The Faculty of Health Sciences will continue its classes and clinical rotations as normal for all three schools on the Bloemfontein Campus and in the relevant hospitals. All students registered in programmes in the Faculty of Health Sciences will stay in residences for the full period of their studies and exams. Final-year medical students will graduate in December 2016 as expected.
  • In the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, final-year students for the Certificate in the Theory of Accounting (CTA) will stay on campus during October through to December 2016 and their classes and tests will not change.
  • Arrangements for all other faculties and programmes are being prepared and within the next week, students and parents/guardians will receive communication about how curriculum content will be completed and when the final exams will take place.
  • The university is extending the academic year so that we can recuperate all the lost teaching and learning time. The qualifications conferred on the 2016 class will be of the same quality and standards as all UFS qualifications.

The UFS is and will remain a fundamentally contact teaching and learning education university. However, under the current circumstances faced not only by the UFS, but higher-education institutions across the country, the best way of ensuring the integrity of the academic programmes in most faculties is by using an alternative way of teaching and learning. Other South African universities have chosen the same approach to be able to complete the academic year.

Instead of students going to class, they will have content delivered to them where they are (library, computer labs, their own computers, etc.) through Blackboard and printed and electronic material. This is a different way of learning but students will be carefully guided and supported.

Faculties are currently preparing all the necessary materials and instructions to support student learning.Standards and quality will be the same as if students were attending classes. Some faculties require practical laboratory work as part of their curriculum. The exam timetable will be adapted for these students to be able to complete their practical work when the academic activities commences in November 2016. The relevant faculties will communicate the schedule of practical work directly to the students.

Students in their final year will complete their studies during 2016. It is possible that in some cases the graduation ceremony for these students will be in June 2017 instead of April 2017. This will not prejudice students with bursaries, or committed employment in law firms or other businesses. The university will provide the necessary academic transcripts as proof of the completion of the relevant qualifications. None of these changes will affect postgraduate students.

The university will maintain regular communication with students and parents/guardians to update them on the new exams timetable.Faculties will communicate directly with students about issues related to their programmes.

“One of the areas in which significant progress was made, is that we were able to agree on a basis for stability with student leaders. The student protests occurred during an important time in the university’s academic calendar and the readjustment of our academic programme has put tremendous pressure on academic and support services staff, and created anxieties for parents,” said Prof Nicky Morgan, Acting Rector of the UFS.

“The senior leadership restates its commitment to free education as well as its willingness to stand together with students and other public universities to impress on government the urgency to decide on a time frame for the roll-out of free higher education for the poor and missing middle. We will use the next two weeks to meet with the leadership of Universities South Africa to coordinate collective action in this regard. We will furthermore also roll out a series of activities to inform and educate students and the general public on different models and experiences of providing free higher education,” he said.

The strategy to readjust the 2016 academic year is applicable to students on the Bloemfontein and South Campuses.


Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393

 

State of our campuses #15: UFS closes campuses until Friday 28 October 2016 to readjust academic programme

State of our campuses #14: All academic activities on UFS campuses remain suspended on 13 and 14 October 2016

State of our campuses #13: Availability of information about plans for remainder of UFS 2016 calendar year

State of our campuses #12: All academic activities at UFS campuses suspended for 11 and 12 October 2016

State of our campuses #11: Academic activities on UFS campuses continue

State of our campuses #10: Impact of non-completion of the 2016 academic year on UFS students 

State of our campuses #9: Academic programme on all UFS campuses to resume on Monday 10 October 2016

State of our campuses #8:  UFS extends vacation as from 28 September until 7 October 2016, 28 September 2016

State of our campuses #7: All three UFS campuses will be closed today, 27 September 2016.

State of our campuses #6: All UFS campuses reopen on Tuesday 27 September 2016

State of our campuses #5: UFS campuses to remain closed on Monday 26 September 2016

State of our campuses #4: Decisions about the UFS academic calendar

State of our campuses #3: UFS campuses closed until Friday 23 September 2016 

State of our campuses #2: UFS Bloemfontein and South Campuses closed on Tuesday 20 September 2016 (19 September 2016)

State of our campuses #1: Academic activities suspended on UFS Bloemfontein Campus (19 September 2016)

 

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