News and Events
Source:
PAKATOM Newsletter November- December 2009 issue |
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Breast Cancer Awareness Program at NIMRA, Jamshoro |
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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.
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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.
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Training Course for Project Directors jointly organized by PAEC &
Planning Commission |
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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
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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 .
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Molybdenum-99 Production Facility commissioned at PINSTECH |
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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.
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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.
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PIEAS organizes its first International Conference on Nuclear Medicine and Oncology |
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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.
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Ph.D. degree for PAEC Engineer |
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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. |
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Posting in the Mission Abroad |
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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.
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Appointments Abroad |
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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.
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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.
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Assignments of PAEC Officers Abroad |
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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:
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Mr. Najmus Saqib, Chief Engineer, Director (DPSA), Karachi Nuclear Power Complex
(KNPC), Karachi.
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Mr. Muhammad
Arif, Principal Engineer, Chashma Nuclear Power Plant (CHASNUPP (C-1),
Kundian.
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Mr. Abdus
Samad, Senior Scientist, CHASNUPP (C-1), Kundian.
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Mr. Saeed
Ahmed, Senior Scientist, CHASNUPP (C-1), Kundian.
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Mr. Muhammad
Azhar, Senior Engineer, CHASNUPP (C-1), Kundian.
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Mr. Mazhar ul
Islam, Senior Engineer, Chashma Nuclear Power Plant (CHASNUPP (C-2),
Kundian.
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Syed
Ishaq, Principal Engineer, KNPC, Karachi.
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Mr. Shakeel
Ahmed, Principal Scientist, KNPC, Karachi.
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Mr. Shahid
Ali, Senior Scientist, KNPC, Karachi
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Visits of Foreigners to Pakistan |
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Mr. Maxim Mihai (Romanian) of M/s. ASTER, Italy visited KNPC, Karachi
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