Breast Cancer Awareness Program at NIMRA, Jamshoro

PAEC’s Nuclear Institute of Medicine & Radiotherapy (NIMRA) organized a breast cancer awareness program on 7th November 2009 to create awareness among the female community of the region.
Honorable Provincial Minister for Women Development, Mrs. Touqeer Fatima Bhutto was the chief guest, Prof. Aftab Munir Siddiqui, Consultant Gynaecologist, Isra University was a guest of honor and Prof. Dr. Noshad Ahmed Shaikh, Vice Chancellor, Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, (LUMHS) was a special guest on this auspicious occasion. About 100 participants including breast surgeons, lady health workers, lady health visitors and female staff of Sindh University were present in the program.

Dr. Naeem Ahmed Laghari, Director, NIMRA in his welcome address mentioned that breast cancer is the most common cancer in females in Pakistan, where 90,000 women are affected by breast cancer annually, only 10% are diagnosed and out of them 75% women do not get treatment and die within five years.

The Breast Cancer Awareness is a joint venture and we all have to play our role by joining hands to fight against it. If it is diagnosed at an early stage, the management is very effective and 100% cure of the disease is possible. 

Provincial Minister for Women Development Sindh, Mrs. Touqeer Fatima Bhutto (center) presiding over the
“Breast Cancer Awareness Program” 
at NIMRA, Jamshoro. 
To her right are Dr. Naeem Ahmed Leghari, Director, NIMRA, Mr. Amir Naveed (BM, ICI) and to her left are 
Professor Dr. Aftab Munir (Isra University) and Dr. Naushad Ahmed Sheikh (VC, LUMHS).  making a presentation 

The honorable Provincial Minister in her speech appreciated the efforts of NIMRA to organize this awareness program for female community and stressed on the health workers to disseminate this program up to the rural level to diagnose the breast cancer in early stage. She also announced donation of an Ambulance for this Institute.

In the end, the participants visited the Breast Care Clinic, Mobile Mammography unit and Dr. Aisha Siddiqua, SMO briefed about breast screening and self-breast examination.

Training Course for Project Directors jointly organized by PAEC &          Planning Commission 

A training course for Project Directors/Officials of PAEC was jointly organized by Pakistan 
Atomic Energy Commission and Planning Commission of Pakistan on November 14-15, 
2009. About 55 Project Directors/Officials participated in the course and 9 resource 
persons were provided by Planning Commission of Pakistan to conduct the course.
Welcoming the participants, the PAEC-PSDP focal person, Dr. Syed Javaid Khurshid, 
Director Projects Coordination mentioned that at present about 40 Public Sector 
Development Projects (PSDP) related to PAEC are in progress. The Director, MIS, 
Planning Commission, Mr. Irfan Rafique said that e-linking of PAEC to Planning 
Commission website will enhance the efficiency and disposal as the Projects Profile, 
Cash/Work Plan details are now available online.

Inaugurating the course, Member (Fuel Cycle) Mr. Muhammad Naeem emphasized 

Member (Fuel Cycle) PAEC, Mr. Muhammad Naeem with Trainers from Planning  Commission 
and PDs/Officials of PAEC.

that this training course will facilitate the Project Directors in their working because this input of 
data will help in timely releases of the projects cost and thus will result in timely completion 
of the projects. He appreciated the help & efforts of Planning Commission to organize this 
course for PAEC Project Directors .

Molybdenum-99 Production Facility commissioned at PINSTECH

A Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) production facility has been installed and commissioned at 
Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH) Islamabad. The facility 
will meet all the current demands of molybdenum-99/technetium-99m generators in the 
country as well as has export potential. 

Radiopharmaceuticals labelled with Technetium-99m are routinely used to get image of 
different organs of human body for diagnosis of different diseases. The prominent position 
of this radionuclide on the market has been due to its near ideal nuclear properties, the 
ready availability in the form of convenient, user friendly column chromatographic 
Mo-99/Tc-99m generator systems. 

The parent radionuclide Mo-99 is mainly produced by the nuclear fission of U-235. Small 
amounts of Mo-99 are produced also by the neutron activation method. However, current 
applications of Mo-99/Tc-99m generators almost completely depend on the fission 
production of Mo-99.

With the expansion of nuclear medicine program in government and public sector, more and 
more clinics are adopting nuclear techniques for diagnosis of different diseases. Pakistan 
Atomic Energy Commission has established 13 Cancer Hospitals in the different parts of 
the country whereas 20 medical centers are operating in government and private sector. 
Indigenous production of Molybdenum-99 will encourage these practices. 

For the last 6 years PINSTECH is  manufacturing PAKGEN Tc-99m generators in the Molybdenum-99 loading facility in Isotope Production Division at PINSTECH. 30 
generators are weekly produced in this facility. These generators are supplied to PAEC, government and private Nuclear Medical Centers in Pakistan. 

A view of the Molybdenum-99 Production Laboratory.

However Mo-99 for loading of Tc-99m generators is weekly imported from South Africa. The price of Mo-99 is increasing sharply. To overcome the problems associated with the import of Mo-99 or generators, such as increase in the price of Mo-99, import policies, delay and changes in supply schedule, etc. the indigenous production of Molybdenum-99 in the country became imperative.

PINSTECH submitted PC-1 on “Production of Molybdenum-99 for Medical Use”, which 
was approved by Planning Commission of Pakistan in March 2004. 

The installation work with in-cell equipment was finished in June 2007. Several simulated 
tracer runs were then conducted in the facility and finally hot commissioning of the facility 
was accomplished with the production of millicurie level of Molybdenum-99 in December 
2009. Upscaling of Molybdenum-99 production will be performed gradually and after a 
few months regular production of Mo-99 will be started. Extra Mo-99 produced in this 
facility may be exported to other countries.

PIEAS organizes its first International Conference on Nuclear Medicine and Oncology

Department of Medical Sciences, PIEAS organized its first International Conference on Nuclear Medicine and Oncology on 21-22 October 2009 at PIEAS in collaboration with Higher Education Commission (HEC). Dr. Ansar Parvez, Chairman, PAEC presided the opening ceremony, which was also attended, among others, by Dr. Abdur Rasheed, Member (Biosciences) and Mr. Mansoor Ali Sheikh, Member (Finance) PAEC.

Resource persons from inland and abroad (China, Hungary and Saudi Arabia) delivered lectures and shared their expertise, technological advances and future trends in nuclear medicine and oncology. The two-day event was attended by a large community of Nuclear Medicine Physicians and Oncologists from various PAEC cancer hospitals and other public/private sector hospitals namely, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Center, Lahore, Agha Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Lahore, Federal Government Services Hospital, Islamabad, NESCOM Hospital, Islamabad, Nishter Hospital, Multan, Sindh Institute of Urology & Transplantation, Karachi and KRL Hospital, Islamabad.

More than fifty papers were presented orally in four plenary sessions. Eight separate parallel sessions of nuclear medicine and oncology and an interactive nuclear cardiology session were also held. Eleven poster presentations were exhibited during the conference.

Ph.D. degree for PAEC Engineer 

Dr. Sufi Tabassum Gul, Senior Engineer at PIEAS, PAEC has been awarded Ph.D. degree
by Ecole Supérieure d'Electricité (SUPELEC)/University of Rennes-I, France, in the domain of Signal Processing and Telecommunications. He was working with Prof. Dr. Christophe MOY and Prof. Dr. Jacques PALICOT in the field of Software 
Defined Radio (SDR) under the overseas scholarship program of HEC, Pakistan. His thesis entitled “Optimization of Multi-Standards Software Defined Radio Equipment: A Common Operator's Approach” was awarded a grade of Très honorable/ Excellent by jury, composed of professors from different European universities. SDR's parameterization techniques can help reduce the cost, size and power consumption of SDR equipment, which are required to support a wide range of existing and future wireless technologies and 
services. 

Posting in the Mission Abroad 

• Mr. Muhammad Saeed Mulla, Deputy Chief Scientist, Disarmament & Safeguards Cell, 
  PAEC HQ has been posted as Minister (Technical) in the Permanent Mission of Pakistan 
  to the UN, Geneva, Switzerland for a period of three years from 27 December 2009.

Appointments Abroad

• Dr. Javed Anver Qureshi, Deputy Chief Scientist, Head, Health Biotechnology Division, NIBGE, Faisalabad will join the position of Associate Professor (Biochemistry) at King Khalid University, Abha Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a period of one year from 3rd week of December 2009. 

• Dr. Naeem Iqbal, Principal Engineer, PIEAS, Islamabad will join as Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia for a period of one year from 3rd week of December 2009.

Assignments of PAEC Officers Abroad

• Mr. Noor Jamal, Senior Engineer and Mr. Jawad Bashir, Junior Engineer, Applied Systems Analysis Division (ASAD), PAEC, Islamabad participated in IAEA National Training Course on “Electric System Expansion Planning Package (WASP)” held in Vienna (Austria) from 09-20 November 2009 under IAEA Regional Project - Enhancing Human and Nuclear Technology Capacities. 

The following officers of PAEC attended IPSART Mission at IAEA HQ, Vienna (Austria) from 07-15 December, 2009:

• Mr. Najmus Saqib, Chief Engineer, Director (DPSA), Karachi Nuclear Power Complex (KNPC), Karachi.

• Mr. Muhammad Arif, Principal Engineer, Chashma Nuclear Power Plant (CHASNUPP (C-1), Kundian.

• Mr. Abdus Samad, Senior Scientist, CHASNUPP (C-1), Kundian.

• Mr. Saeed Ahmed, Senior Scientist, CHASNUPP (C-1), Kundian.

• Mr. Muhammad Azhar, Senior Engineer, CHASNUPP (C-1), Kundian.

• Mr. Mazhar ul Islam, Senior Engineer, Chashma Nuclear Power Plant (CHASNUPP (C-2), Kundian.

• Syed Ishaq, Principal Engineer, KNPC, Karachi.

• Mr. Shakeel Ahmed, Principal Scientist, KNPC, Karachi.

• Mr. Shahid Ali, Senior Scientist, KNPC, Karachi

Visits of Foreigners to Pakistan

• Dr.Terry Townsend, Executive Director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee Washington, USA visited NIBGE, Faisalabad on 06 November 2009 for discussion on Cotton Biotechnology.
  

• Dr. Srinvas V. Kaveri (French), a renowned Immunologist and Dr. Sandie Favier, (French) Attache for Science and Technology, French Embassy at Islamabad delivered a lecture at NIBGE, Faisalabad on 10th December 2009.
  

• Mrs. Elizabeth Anne Trevan (Australian), Health Consultant is currently visiting INMOL, CENUM, Lahore, BINO, Bahawalpur, MINAR, Multan and NORI, Islamabad from 17-24 December 2009 to help improving the PAEC Breast Care Program. She will also meet Member (Bio-Sciences) and Chairman, PAEC during her visit. 
  

• Mr. Maxim Mihai (Romanian) of M/s. ASTER, Italy visited KNPC, Karachi