When Donald Trump began his second presidential term in early 2025, few observers predicted that this era would be a turning point for American science. However, over the past year, the US scientific community has become an unwitting participant in processes far from scientific. Many experts believe that grant cuts, political interference, and the loss of academic independence have led to the mass exodus of scientists abroad.
The key reasons driving researchers to leave the US today are not solely economic. In the spring and summer of 2025, leading laboratories and universities faced a freeze on grants and federal funding, particularly in fields related to climate, health, and the social sciences, which the scientific community perceived as the result of political pressure from the Trump administration. Scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other centers have already openly stated this.
Ongoing NIH budget cuts and associated grant cancellations even led to an open letter, the Bethesda Declaration, signed by hundreds of NIH employees, demanding the restoration of funding and the protection of academic independence.
For many researchers, this situation has become the primary motivation to seek employment abroad due to a lack of future security. Thus, by June 2025, the journal Nature recorded a significant increase in interest among American scientists in international vacancies, with the number of views of international job postings increasing by 35-41% and the number of applications submitted by 32-41%. The data shows that a significant portion of researchers are already considering relocation, which, combined with political instability, indicates the onset of a “brain drain” from the United States, which for decades had built its science and innovation policies on actively attracting cutting-edge scientific potential.
Precise official data on scientist migration for 2025-2026 has not yet been finalized, but anecdotal evidence suggests a serious trend. According to a Financial Times investigation, over 10,000 PhD candidates have left US federal research institutions in the past 12 months, tripling the figure from the previous year. The National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health suffered the most significant losses, with resignations and voluntary departures reaching 30-40% in some departments. These included leaders of major research projects in biomedicine, climate science, physics, and computational science.
European universities have confirmed an increase in applications from US citizens, and national programs, such as Austria’s APART-USA, have attracted 25 leading scientists from universities such as Harvard, MIT, and Princeton, providing them with multi-year grants and positions.
ÖAW (Austrian Academy of Sciences) President Heinz Fassmann wryly remarked, “Thanks to Trump for this brain gain.” Minister for Women, Science, and Research Holzleitner emphasized, “In an era when political interference and authoritarian tendencies threaten academic freedom, Austria stands firmly on the side of science and democracy.”
Experts estimate that this brain gain could become one of Austria’s most significant scientific acquisitions in decades, and a direct consequence of Trump’s policies toward universities and federal science funding. Many relocated scientists note freedom from sudden project closures and external pressure on research content. This is part of the pan-European trend of “scientific asylums.” The processes that have begun indicate the emergence of a sustainable trend capable of changing the balance of personnel in global science. Austria has become a symbol of initiatives to attract science. The APART-USA program, launched in July 2025, allocates €500,000 for 48 months to each visiting scientist to work at Austrian universities, and the government has set a goal of attracting at least 50 American academics per year.
With strategic advantages ranging from funding programs to guaranteed academic freedom and integration into international research networks, Europe is actively attracting American talent. Between 2025 and 2027, the EU plans to invest up to €500 million in a program to attract international researchers, part of which is aimed at American scientists seeking stability and resources for their work. The European Research Council (ERC) has increased the maximum grants for visiting researchers to €2 million, potentially reaching €4.5 million with additional opportunities.
Germany, the Netherlands, and France are also developing specialized funds and targeted positions for researchers, targeting, among other things, American scientists facing grant cuts in their home countries. In Germany, organizations like the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation are devoting additional resources to international recruitment, expanding individual fellowship programs (prestigious academic or professional internships/scholarships offered to specialists, researchers, or doctoral students for in-depth study of a topic, research, or obtaining a specialized qualification) and research visits, as well as offering expedited employment procedures for professors from abroad. The Netherlands, through the Dutch Research Council, has increased funding for the Veni-Vidi-Vici competitions and announced its willingness to host entire research groups, providing start-up packages and laboratory infrastructure.
In France, Aix-Marseille University was particularly active, announcing the creation of special positions and a budgetary reserve for American researchers who had lost funding in the United States. The university offered multi-year contracts, start-up grants, and administrative support for relocation, including assistance with visas and housing. At the same time, French national institutions, such as the CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research), simplified procedures for integrating foreign scientists into research laboratories.
The EU’s EURAXESS (Researchers on the Move) platform helps scientists with visas, work permits, and grant applications, reducing bureaucratic barriers to relocating to Europe. This makes the transition less risky than in the past. Thus, European countries are moving beyond declarations of “scientific havens” and are developing institutional mechanisms to systematically attract US talent.
Experts warn that a massive outflow of scientific talent could weaken the US’s global advantage in research and innovation. This process is already reflected in a decline in publications, investment, and new technological breakthroughs, while federal agencies are losing key specialists. Scientific organizations are increasingly discussing the threat of a “brain drain,” as even American PhD graduates in traditionally attractive fields (e.g., AI and quantum technologies) are considering Europe and Canada as serious alternatives.
For Europe, the influx of American scientists is becoming a powerful opportunity to strengthen its research position, as they bring new expertise, expand international ties, and strengthen domestic scientific clusters. However, there is also a danger that if Europe fails to provide competitive salaries and sustainable funding, this influx of talent will remain a fragmented success rather than a transformative shift.
In 2025–2026, the scientific world will experience not only migration but also a genuine socio-political shift. American scientists are leaving the US not only because of money, but also because of a lack of confidence and academic freedom. Europe, in turn, is turning this situation into an opportunity to strengthen its own scientific elite and international status. How long this trend will last and what global consequences it will have remains an open question, but it is already clear that the battle for “brains” is becoming a crucial issue of the era.