US brain drain: Nature’s guide to the initiatives drawing scientists abroad

In response to US turmoil, premier establishments such as the European Research Council have sweetened incentives to attract talent

As attacks on US science by the administration of President Donald Trump continue, countries worldwide are stepping up their efforts to recruit US research talent.

In the past few months, governments and institutions have launched programmes to attract scientists from the United States, where the Trump administration has made deep cuts to research budgets and begun dismantling science agencies.

Efforts launched in regions including Europe, Canada, Australia and China range from enhanced funding opportunities to new programmes dedicated to wooing scientists, many backed by tens of millions of dollars (see ‘How nations are attracting scientists’). The trend has sparked a debate about whether luring US scientists abroad is the best way to support a global research community whose leading entity is under strain — and whether other nations can compete with historically high US levels of research funding.

“We really should see this as a way of helping research globally and not as a way of poaching,” says Maria Leptin, president of the European Research Council (ERC), the continent’s premier research funder. “I’ve referred to it as creating a haven.” As part of such efforts, the ERC is doubling to up to €2 million (US$2.2 million) the extra ‘start-up’ money that researchers moving to Europe can apply for to help them establish their laboratories. The money could, for instance, pay for moving a laboratory or setting up a research team.

That means the ERC now offers some grants worth up to €4.5 million over up to 5 years, making them competitive with US research awards. “It increases the grant sizes significantly,” says Leptin. “It should be a good incentive for people to come.”

‘Make Europe a magnet’

The start-up funding is open to researchers moving from anywhere in the world to institutions in European Union countries and other nations associated with the EU’s flagship science programme, Horizon Europe. “It’s for anybody — and I think that’s right,” says Leptin. “We’ve been wanting to do more,” she says. The US situation “was the straw that broke the camel’s back to increase funding for this particular issue, at this particular time in history”.

Maria Leptin, president of the European Research Council, wants Europe to haven for scientists.Credit: EMBL PhotoLab

The ERC’s plans complement a broader initiative launched this month by the European Commission. The Choose Europe for Science programme, announced by commission president Ursula von der Leyen and backed by €500 million, is the most prominent of the talent-attraction initiatives. “The role of science in today’s world is questioned,” said von der Leyen at the launch in Paris. “We need to offer the right incentives,” she said, “to make Europe a magnet for researchers.”

Other initiatives range from government-led programmes to those launched by individual institutions seeking researchers in particular disciplines.

How nations are attracting scientists

The European Research Council is developing new, longer, larger ‘super grants’ to draw the “very best” scientists.

The Spanish State Research Agency’s ATRAE programme, which is designed to attract international researchers, this year has a focus on US-based scientists. “We’re offering an additional funding of €200,000 for researchers who have been selected and are coming from the US,” Spanish science minister Diana Morant told Nature.

The Dutch Research Council has launched a fund to attract international scientists, regardless of nationality, to continue their work in the Netherlands.

The Research Council of Norway has launched a US$9.5-million scheme to recruit international researchers. The programme welcomes scientists working on climate, health, energy and artificial intelligence (AI).

The Danish Chamber of Commerce has proposed a fast-track programme aimed at bringing up to 200 US researchers — in fields such as quantum technology, robotics and climate research — to Denmark over the next three years.

Austria wants to make it easier for universities to hire US researchers through a proposed amendment to the University Organization Act that would, in some cases, let institutions bypass the requirement to post job advertisements publicly for candidates who have spent at least two years doing research or teaching in the United States. “Austria stands as a bastion of security, favourable conditions, and an unfettered research environment — qualities that are increasingly absent in the United States,” science minister Eva-Maria Holzleitner told Nature.

Paris-Saclay University has deployed several initiatives to support US researchers, including PhD contracts and funded visits for scholars. It also encourages them to apply through existing programmes, including its Alembert research-chair scheme and the Chateaubriand fellowship, and it says that tenure-track positions are on offer.

The Paris Observatory is organizing a “special programme” to welcome USscientists who have lost their jobs or would prefer to work in France.

Aix en Marseilles University in France established the Safe Place For Science programme dedicated to welcoming US scientists in areas including climate, the environment and health. It is assessing its first round of applications.

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is “freeing up funds and establishing a dedicated contact point for American researchers who want to continue their work in Brussels”.

The Joint European Disruptive Initiative, Europe’s high-risk research agency, has launched the Transatlantic Science Fellows scheme to attract ten managers for its moonshot programmes, “starting with scientists from the Americas”, “at a time of global uncertainties”.

The Toronto University Hospital Network has launched Canada Leads, a challenge to recruit 100 early-career scientists working across virology, regenerative medicine and areas “at risk due to shifting research funding landscapes globally”, a spokesperson says. The programme promises 2 years of funding and has received 300 expressions of interest since it was announced on 7 April.

The University of Montreal in Canada has launched a Can$25-million (US$18-million) fundraising campaign to recruit leading and early-career researchers, including those facing pressures in the United States. The programme — which has raised nearly half its funding target — will support researchers in areas such as health, AI, biodiversity and public policy.

The Australian Academy of Science has started a Global Talent Attraction Program to recruit US researchers working in areas of national need. The academy is seeking investors to fund the programme, but “there has been strong interest from US-based researchers and Australians wanting to return home”, says academy president Chennupati Jagadish.

In China, an advertisement began circulating on X in February that said the technology city Shenzhen welcomes “global talents”, especially those dismissed by US institutions, Politico reported. Nature contacted several Chinese institutions to ask whether they were recruiting US scientists but did not receive a response.

In France, where multiple schemes have emerged, the government has launched Choose France for Science to encourage international scientists who want to continue their work at French institutions. Operated by the French National Research Agency, the platform offers government funding to support institutions wanting to host relocating researchers.

The Max Planck Society — Germany’s prestigious network of research institutes — has started a Transatlantic Program, which aims to establish collaborative research centres with leading US institutions and will offer additional postdoc positions to US researchers. The society has committed €12 million and is working with US foundations to extend funding, a spokesperson says.

Poaching debate

And, as some US scientists say that they are seeking jobs abroad, institutions have reported a rise in job inquiries from US researchers. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) is receiving an increasing number of unsolicited applications from US scientists, a spokesperson says, as is the University of Sydney in Australia, says deputy vice-chancellor of research Julie Cairney.

But not everyone agrees that luring US talent is the right approach. “Trying to actively poach people away is just going to add to the serious problems some of our friends and colleagues in the US system currently face,” says Jan Löwe, director of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK.