US researchers begin leaving for Europe, Canada, and Australia as grant cuts reshape career prospects

By spring 2025, a measurable wave of US-based researchers had begun accepting positions at foreign institutions following the cancellation of their NIH, NSF, or NEH grants or the closure of their university DEI programs. Science and Nature both published surveys of scientists who said they were actively exploring positions outside the United States. Germany's Max Planck Society, Canada's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and several Australian research universities publicly announced that they were actively recruiting American scientists. European Commission officials stated that the resulting talent movement presented an opportunity to strengthen EU research capacity. Universities in the United Kingdom reported receiving record numbers of faculty applications from American institutions. Early-career researchers were disproportionately represented among those departing, creating concern that the US would lose a generation of scientific talent that typically takes a decade or more to replace.