As the Trump administration cut billions of dollars in federal funding to scientific research, thousands of scientists in the US lost their jobs or grants \u2014 and governments and universities around the world spotted an opportunity.
\nThe \u201cCanada Leads\u201d program, launched in April, hopes to foster the next generation of innovators by bringing early-career biomedical researchers north of the border.
\nAix-Marseille University in France started the \u201cSafe Place for Science\u201d program in March \u2014 pledging to \u201cwelcome\u201d US-based scientists who \u201cmay feel threatened or hindered in their research.\u201d
\nAustralia\u2019s \u201cGlobal Talent Attraction Program,\u201d announced in April, promises competitive salaries and relocation packages.
\n\u201cIn response to what is happening in the US,\u201d said Anna-Maria Arabia, head of the Australian Academy of Sciences, \u201cwe see an unparalleled opportunity to attract some of the smartest minds here.\u201d
\nSince World War II, the US has invested huge amounts of money in scientific research conducted at independent universities and federal agencies. That funding helped the US to become the world\u2019s leading scientific power \u2014 and has led to the invention of cell phones and the Internet as well as new ways to treat cancer, heart disease and strokes, noted Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the journal Science.
\nBut today that system is being shaken.
\nSince President Donald Trump took office in January, his administration has pointed to what it calls waste and inefficiency in federal science spending and made major cuts to staff levels and grant funding at the National Science Foundation,the National Institutes of Health, NASA and other agencies, as well as slashing research dollars that flow to some private universities.
\nThe White House budget proposal for next year calls to cut the NIH budget by roughly 40 percent and the National Science Foundation\u2019s by 55 percent.
\n\u201cThe Trump administration is spending its first few months reviewing the previous administration\u2019s projects, identifying waste, and realigning our research spending to match the American people\u2019s priorities and continue our innovative dominance,\u201d said White House spokesperson Kush Desai.
\nAlready, several universities have announced hiring freezes, laid off staff or stopped admitting new graduate students. On Thursday, the Trump administration revoked Harvard University\u2019s ability to enroll international students, though a judge put that on hold.
\nResearch institutions abroad are watching with concern for collaborations that depend on colleagues in the US \u2014 but they also see opportunities to potentially poach talent.
\n\u201cThere are threats to science … south of the border,\u201d said Brad Wouters, of University Health Network, Canada\u2019s leading hospital and medical research center, which launched the \u201cCanada Leads\u201d recruitment drive. \u201cThere\u2019s a whole pool of talent, a whole cohort that is being affected by this moment.\u201d
\nPromising a safe place to do science
\nUniversities worldwide are always trying to recruit from one another, just as tech companies and businesses in other fields do. What\u2019s unusual about the current moment is that many global recruiters are targeting researchers by promising something that seems newly threatened: academic freedom.
\nEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this month that the European Union intends \u201cto enshrine freedom of scientific research into law.\u201d She spoke at the launch of the bloc\u2019s \u201cChoose Europe for Science\u201d \u2014 which was in the works before the Trump administration cuts but has sought to capitalize on the moment.
\nEric Berton, president of Aix-Marseille University, expressed a similar sentiment after launching the institution\u2019s \u201cSafe Place for Science\u201d program.
\n\u201cOur American research colleagues are not particularly interested by money,\u201d he said of applicants. \u201cWhat they want above all is to be able to continue their research and that their academic freedom be preserved.\u201d
\nToo early to say \u2018brain drain\u2019
\nIt\u2019s too early to say how many scientists will choose to leave the US It will take months for universities to review applications and dole out funding, and longer for researchers to uproot their lives.
\nPlus, the American lead in funding research and development is enormous \u2014 and even significant cuts may leave crucial programs standing. The US has been the world\u2019s leading funder of R&D \u2014 including government, university and private investment \u2014 for decades. In 2023, the country funded 29 percent of the world\u2019s R&D, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
\nBut some institutions abroad are reporting significant early interest from researchers in the US Nearly half of the applications to \u201cSafe Place for Science\u201d \u2014 139 out of 300 total \u2014 came from US-based scientists, including AI researchers and astrophysicists.
\nUS-based applicants in this year\u2019s recruitment round for France\u2019s Institute of Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology roughly doubled over last year.
\nAt the Max Planck Society in Germany, the Lise Meitner Excellence Program \u2014 aimed at young female researchers \u2014 drew triple the number of applications from US-based scientists this year as last year.
\nRecruiters who work with companies and nonprofits say they see a similar trend.
\nNatalie Derry, a UK-based managing partner of the Global Emerging Sciences Practice at recruiter WittKieffer, said her team has seen a 25 percent to 35 percent increase in applicants from the US cold-calling about open positions. When they reach out to scientists currently based in the US, \u201cwe are getting a much higher hit rate of people showing interest.\u201d
\nStill, there are practical hurdles to overcome for would-be continent-hoppers, she said. That can include language hurdles, arranging childcare or eldercare, and significant differences in national pension or retirement programs.
\nCommunity ties
\nBrandon Coventry never thought he would consider a scientific career outside the United States. But federal funding cuts and questions over whether new grants will materialize have left him unsure. While reluctant to leave his family and friends, he\u2019s applied to faculty positions in Canada and France.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve never wanted to necessarily leave the United States, but this is a serious contender for me,\u201d said Coventry, who is a postdoctoral fellow studying neural implants at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
\nBut it\u2019s not easy to pick up and move a scientific career \u2014 let alone a life.
\nMarianna Zhang was studying how children develop race and gender stereotypes as a postdoctoral fellow at New York University when her National Science Foundation grant was canceled. She said it felt like \u201cAmerica as a country was no longer interested in studying questions like mine.\u201d
\nStill, she wasn\u2019t sure of her next move. \u201cIt\u2019s no easy solution, just fleeing and escaping to another country,\u201d she said.
\nThe recruitment programs range in ambition, from those trying to attract a dozen researchers to a single university to the continent-wide \u201cChoose Europe\u201d initiative.
\nBut it\u2019s unclear if the total amount of funding and new positions offered could match what\u2019s being shed in the US.
\nA global vacuum
\nEven as universities and institutes think about recruiting talent from the US, there\u2019s more apprehension than glee at the funding cuts.
\n\u201cScience is a global endeavor,\u201d said Patrick Cramer, head of the Max Planck Society, noting that datasets and discoveries are often shared among international collaborators.
\nOne aim of recruitment drives is to \u201cto help prevent the loss of talent to the global scientific community,\u201d he said.
\nResearchers worldwide will suffer if collaborations are shut down and databases taken offline, scientists say.
\n\u201cThe US was always an example, in both science and education,\u201d said Patrick Schultz, president of France\u2019s Institute of Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology. So the cuts and policies were \u201cvery frightening also for us because it was an example for the whole world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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