Global race to lure US researchers intensifies after Trump cuts funding

By Jason Gale

 

A global race to recruit US researchers and doctors is heating up as President Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to science funding and federal agencies disrupt the country’s research landscape. 

Canada, France, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Australia are among nations offering incentives — including funding, streamlined immigration pathways and competitive relocation packages — to entice scientists facing mounting uncertainty at home.

 

The changes brought about by the Trump administration have left many American researchers rethinking their careers. In a Nature poll conducted in March, more than 1,200 scientists — 75 per cent of respondents — said they were considering leaving the US. Europe and Canada were among the top relocation choices.

 

 

“Academic freedom is under pressure in the United States, and it is an unpredictable situation for many researchers in what has been the world’s leading research nation for many decades,” Sigrun Aasland, Norway’s Minister of Research and Higher Education, said in a statement Friday.

 

The Trump administration has halted large swaths of federally funded research and embarked on mass layoffs under a government-wide cost-cutting initiative led by billionaire Elon Musk.  

 

Tens of thousands of federal employees, including scientists, have been fired and rehired following a court order, with more mass layoffs expected. Immigration crackdowns and political battles over academic freedom have further shaken the research community.

 

In response, Norway last week launched a 100 million kroner ($9.6 million) fund aimed at making it easier to recruit top international researchers. The programme was expanded and accelerated after the Trump administration’s latest wave of cuts.

 

“It is important for Norway to be proactive in a demanding situation for academic freedom,” Aasland said. “We can make a difference for outstanding researchers and important knowledge, and we want to do that as quickly as possible.”

 

Australia’s Academy of Science has likewise established a Global Talent Attraction Program to rapidly recruit displaced US researchers and Australians returning home. “These are the scientists we’ll be looking to attract to Australia under this new programme,” said Chennupati Jagadish, the academy’s president.

 

In Canada, the University Health Network in Toronto has launched the “Canada Leads 100 Challenge” to recruit 100 early-career scientists. “The time is now. The opportunity is now,” Kevin Smith, UHN’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

 

Canadian academics say they are already seeing a surge in job inquiries from across the border. Madhukar Pai, chair in epidemiology and global health at McGill University in Montreal, said he expects a record number of applicants for a new tenure-track position opening soon in his department.

 

‘New Door’ 

Europe, too, is mobilising. Germany’s BioMed X, an independent biomedical research institute based in Heidelberg, has begun a programme to match US National Institutes of Health grant holders who have lost funding with pharmaceutical industry backers. 

 

“The purpose of our new XBridge Program is to open a new door for researchers facing the abrupt loss of NIH support,” said Christian Tidona, BioMed X’s founder and managing director.

 

Meanwhile, the Netherlands and Belgium have established new funds and postdoctoral positions specifically targeting American researchers. 

 

Twelve European countries — including France, Germany, and Spain — have jointly called for efforts to appeal to scientists who might suffer from research interference and ill-motivated and brutal funding cuts, Politico reported.

 

France has formally launched a “Choose France for Science” platform, positioning itself as a haven for researchers in critical fields like health, climate, biodiversity, digital technology and artificial intelligence.

 

“The freedom and independence of science must be defended collectively,” Yasmine Belkaid, president of the Pasteur Institute and a former NIH researcher, said on LinkedIn. “It also represents a unique opportunity for our country and for Europe to strengthen its competitiveness and once again become a central hub in the global knowledge economy.”

 

Denmark is also making an overt pitch. Brian Mikkelsen, CEO of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, issued an open invitation to American researchers: “In Denmark, we value science. We believe in facts,” he said in a post on LinkedIn over the weekend in which he called for “a fast-track initiative to welcome up to 200 American researchers over the next three years.”

 

At home, the US situation continues to deteriorate. The Trump administration has begun slashing the Department of Health and Human Services workforce by 20,000 positions, cutting deep into key agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NIH and the Food and Drug Administration. 

 

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. framed the changes as part of a “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, but critics warn the cuts will undermine US national security and biological readiness.

 

Across the US research community, alarm is growing. More than 500 US college and university presidents have signed a statement denouncing the Trump administration’s “unprecedented government overreach and political interference” in higher education. 

 

Harvard University has filed a lawsuit over threatened funding cuts — escalating a battle with global ramifications for science and innovation.

 

“American science is gravely wounded,” said Arthur Caplan, professor of bioethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City.