Thursday, 4:30 PM
Harvard scientist gets to stay, continue research
By Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff
A Harvard scientist whose cancer research funding was imperiled because of delays in her permanent residency application has finally cleared an FBI background check, and will be allowed to continue her federally-funded research.
Loling Song, a biophysicist who won a $750,000 National Institutes of Health grant for breast cancer research, was in danger of losing the funding because her green card application was hung up on an FBI background check, which had taken more than two years. Song recently sued the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to act on her application.
On Thursday, she learned she had been cleared for approval. "We are gratified that a favorable determination has been made," said Kevin Casey, director of government relations at Harvard University. "While it's unfortunate that the extraordinary step of a legal proceeding had to be initiated, the most important thing is that her research can now move forward."
