Success Stories: Advancing Safer Medicines: Pharmacologist Earns NIW Approval for Groundbreaking Drug Interaction Research

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On June 13^th, 2025, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Postdoctoral Researcher in the field of Pharmacology (Approval Notice).

General Field: Pharmacology

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Postdoctoral Researcher

Country of Origin: South Korea

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Maryland

Approval Notice Date: June 13^th, 2025

Processing Time: 11 months, 20 days

Case Summary:

In a pharmaceutical landscape where nearly 90% of clinical drug trials fail and adverse drug reactions cost the U.S. billions annually, every data point, every discovery, and every refinement matters. A postdoctoral researcher from South Korea, working at the forefront of pharmacokinetics and drug safety, has earned approval for her EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) petition. Her work is reshaping how new therapies are evaluated, formulated, and brought safely to patients.

Her field—pharmacology—centers on drug absorption, metabolism, and drug interaction. She specializes in assessing the pharmacokinetic properties of novel medications, using both in vitro and in vivo models to better understand how drugs behave in the body. Her work addresses one of the most pressing issues in drug development: minimizing adverse effects while maximizing efficacy.

With 13 peer-reviewed journal articles (including two first-authored and one co-first-authored) and five first-authored conference abstracts, her publication record is already influencing the global research community. Her work has been cited 163 times, with five of her papers ranked among the most highly cited in pharmacology and toxicology for their respective years. Notably, one of her studies on the relationship between gut microbiota and metformin has been cited 87 times and ranks in the top 1% of cited articles in its field.

From evaluating nano-formulated cancer treatments to measuring enzyme inhibition for neurodegenerative drugs, her research touches on a range of critical therapeutic areas. Her work has also contributed to safer drug combinations for conditions like diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. She currently conducts research on bioanalytical methods and brain-permeable drugs as part of a collaborative team at a top U.S. research institution.

Her influence is also felt in peer review, where she has evaluated manuscripts for prominent journals such as The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology. Her expert insight has helped shape the standards of publication in a highly specialized and globally impactful field.

At NAILG, we built a petition that demonstrated her exceptional qualifications, highlighting how her research directly addresses urgent national health and economic concerns. Her methods improve the reliability of preclinical testing, enable smarter formulation strategies, and reduce the risk of harmful drug interactions—an outcome with clear public health implications.

With this EB-2 NIW approval, she now continues her journey, driving innovations that could improve the safety profile of countless drugs yet to be discovered. We are honored to have supported her success and proud to see her contributions shaping the future of pharmacological research in the United States.

North America Immigration Law Group (Chen Immigration Law Associates) is a U.S. immigration law firm dedicated to representing corporations, research institutions, and individuals from all 50 U.S. states regarding I-140 immigration petitions. We specialize in employment-based immigration petition and have a proven record of high success rate for the categories of: EB2-NIW (National Interest Waiver), EB1-A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability), EB1-B (Outstanding Researcher/Professor) and O-1 (Alien of Extraordinary Ability).

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