NIW (National Interest Waiver) Recommendation Letter 1

Dear Sir or Madam:

It is my great pleasure to write this letter in support [The petitioner's] petition for immigration to the United States. I strongly support the EB2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) application for [The petitioner]. [The petitioner's] Ph.D. research was focused on one critically important membrane protein complex, the cytochrome b6f complex, which is a delicate molecular device in the photosynthetic membrane that contains at eight [sic] tightly bound protein subunits and multiple inhibitor/drug binding sites. His numerous findings from this research project have greatly advanced our view of trans-membrane trafficking, and the binding and action of drug-like chemicals within membrane proteins.

Because of [the petitioner's] distinguished achievements during his Ph.D. study, I invited him to join my laboratory so that he could apply his wealthy knowledge and unique expertise of membrane protein structure and function to our studies of ion channel proteins that are involved in nervous system disorders. My laboratory in the XXXX Medical Center is a comprehensive medical research center. As a professor and chairman of the Department and Director of the XXXX Center, my work is dedicated to biomedical research, focusing on XXX. Enclosed please find my Curriculum Vitae documenting my qualifications to recommend [the petitioner's] for his EB2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) immigration application.

[The petitioner] is an outstanding and exceptionally skilled scientist whose groundbreaking research work is of vital importance to our country's biomedical research efforts and improvement of public health in national scope. His accomplishments to date have far exceeded those of the vast majority of his peers as evidenced by his productive publications in premier scientific journals and frequent citations of his works by other researchers.

[The petitioner's] research work aims to tackle the problems of neurological diseases. As we know, all neuronal activities in the brain, e.g., consciousness, learning and memory, are governed by the opening and closing of a series of ion channel proteins in the neuronal cell surface that are permeable to specific ions. Compared to all other ion channels, the BK channel is a unique potassium channel that can generate exceptionally large electrical current. Therefore the BK channels play an essential role in the regulation of neuronal excitability, neuronal firing, and neurotransmitter release in the brain. [The petitioner] has independently defined the biochemical and biophysical properties of the BK channel in brain and how this channel is dynamically regulated. What we learned from his research project is critically important for development and application of new drugs targeting at the BK channels for many mental and neurological diseases.

In addition, [the petitioner] has made the milestone discovery that brain BK channels exist in several different splicing forms and are extensively phosphorylated at multiple sites in mammalian brain. He has assembled a comprehensive and robust data set of alternative splicing isoforms and phosphorylation sites on rat brain BK channels. These data represent a gold mine of information for determining how neuronal activity is dynamically modulated by the BK channels. The cytochrome b6f complex plays a pivotal role in the process of photosynthesis. [The petitioner] has conducted in-depth research to study the mechanism of electron/proton transfer within the cytochrome b6f complex. He also carried out first-rate studies on the unique structural and functional properties of single copies of solar energy absorbing pigments in the cytochrome b6f complex. His novel discoveries have provided a better understanding of membrane energy transduction in photosynthesis, and important input into the effort to harness photosynthesis to improve crop yield and to increase the efficiency of usage of renewable solar energy.

I feel fortunate to have had [the petitioner] in my laboratory. He has done an outstanding job and made a very substantial impact in the research field of membrane protein structure and function. His research works are well-recognized nationally and internationally as indicated by a large number of citations (more than 80) of his papers by other researchers in this field. [The petitioner's] significant accomplishments are far above what is expected from his peer group and have established him as a nationally and internationally outstanding researcher in the field of membrane protein structure and function. His research is doubtlessly in the national interest of the United States. I believe that [The petitioner] will be very productive in his research efforts, and I fully support and recommend that his petition of EB2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) be granted.

Sincerely,
XXXX, PhD
Director of XXX Center
XXX University Medical Center