We demand the immediate release of Kseniia Petrova, a scientist whose expertise is crucial to advancing cancer detection and medical research. Petrova, a researcher at Harvard Medical School’s Kirschner Lab, has been detained by ICE for over two months, putting vital breakthroughs at risk.

Petrova’s work involves analyzing images from a cutting-edge microscope at Harvard, holding the potential to revolutionize early cancer detection. She is the only one capable of fully unlocking this data. Her detention threatens not only her future but the future of medical progress that could save lives.

Detained at Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana, Petrova faces deportation to Russia, where she risks persecution due to her activism against the war in Ukraine. If deported, she may never return, and the research could be permanently stalled.

This is a matter of life and death not just for her, but for Americans with cancer who could benefit from her life-saving research. 

Petrova is irreplaceable. Her unique skill set in embryology, applied math, and bioinformatics is essential to the research. Without her, the life-saving insights from this microscope may never be realized.

We cannot afford to lose this valuable scientist, nor let an innocent person be sent back to a dangerous regime. We urge the immediate release of Kseniia Petrova from ICE detention, and demand she be allowed to continue her critical work without the threat of deportation.

Photo: Courtesy Petrova's attorney/NBC