Latest news with #DanielleBeckman
Independent Singapore
4 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Trump's brain drain is America's loss, but could be the world's biggest win
INTERNATIONAL: There was a time when Danielle Beckman viewed the United States as the apex of opportunity for researchers and experts. A neuroscientist from Brazil, Beckman accomplished her ultimate desire in 2017 when she joined the California National Primate Research Centre at UC Davis. 'Coming to the US was always the dream,' Beckman said. 'It was always the place to be, where there's the biggest investment in science.' But just a few years later, according to a recent CNN report, that dream has disintegrated. Amid comprehensive slashes to research subsidies, government meddling in academia, and anti-immigrant pomposity, Beckman is now prepared to leave the U.S. Her laboratory has already lost $2.5 million in revoked endowments, and she's now exploring prospects in Germany and France. 'It's the first time since I moved here that I don't feel so welcome anymore,' she said. Beckman is not alone. A rising migration of academics and field experts is in progress, as top inventors and professors in different disciplines are searching for new homes for their work, and their families in nations where science is still guarded and treasured. Countries rush to recruit U.S. scientists As America's academic setting becomes increasingly antagonistic, other countries are making the most of the opportunity. The European Union has guaranteed €500 million ($562 million) to turn Europe into a centre for banished researchers. France is initiating a 'Safe Place for Science' package in Marseille to admit targeted or repressed researchers. In the meantime, Canada, Norway, Singapore, and Australia all have activated parallel endeavours to entice superior talent from the U.S. 'We know these individuals are highly trained, talented, and have much to offer,' said Anna-Maria Arabia, CEO of the Australian Academy of Science. Her group is one of the many tapping into what she calls a 'global hunger' for scientific proficiency, now bolting away from the U.S. in hordes. These worldwide initiatives mark a dramatic setback to the established brain gain America has relished for a long time. The damage, experts caution, could change the global scenario of innovation and research direction. Funding slashed, freedoms threatened, and the toll of Trump's policies. As he entered his second term, President Donald Trump has overturned the connection between the federal government and America's primary research institutions. Federal backing for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF)—once pillars of worldwide systematic management—has been reduced by billions. Nearly 700 NIH endowments totalling $1.8 billion were lost in just a few weeks earlier this year. The Trump government has also planned a 40% decrease in the NIH's 2026 budget. Simultaneously, leading academies like Harvard are embattled for their refusal to pull apart diversity and inclusion agendas. The administration immobilised billions in federal financing and barred Harvard from registering transnational students, a verdict which was swiftly reversed by a federal judge. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt justified the government's rerouting of resources, saying they will coddle 'trade schools and state programs promoting American values,' while disparaging 'LGBTQ graduate majors from Harvard University.' The message is clear: The U.S. government is becoming increasingly unreceptive and antagonistic to independent science, global students, and the type of academic autonomy that once demarcated its universal standing. The collapse of U.S. scientific leadership? For many decades, the U.S. has long been the world's research steamroller, behind more than 400 Nobel Prizes, many earned by émigrés, and boosted by approximately a trillion dollars in yearly public and private R&D investment. Today, that reputation is now in jeopardy. China, with more than $780 billion in yearly R&D outlay, is quickly closing the innovation gap. The European Union's R&D investments have increased by 50% over the past decade and a half. These nations are now better positioned to engage the world's superior minds. See also Speaker of the House seat up for grabs again The consequence is a flashpoint. Based on a Nature survey from March, 75% of U.S. researchers said they're contemplating exiting the country due to the Trump administration's guidelines. Others, like Yale professors Jason Stanley, Marci Shore, and Timothy Snyder, distinguished academics of fascism, have already transferred to Canada. 'What we are losing is this whole cadre of highly productive, young, energetic, well-trained, knowledgeable, advanced researchers,' cautioned Kenneth Wong, an expert education policy professional at Brown University. 'It's a complete reset of the collaborative relationship between the federal government and our leading research institutions.' For Beckman, whose study centres on how diseases like COVID-19 impact the brain, the choice is now less about politics and more about endurance and survival. 'There is interest in virology everywhere in the world except the U.S. right now,' she said. As the world welcomes U.S.-trained scientists, the question is: will America mend from the impairment, or relinquish its scientific advantage for good?
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
The US has long been a research powerhouse. After Trump's cuts, other countries are stepping in
Growing up in Brazil, neuroscientist Danielle Beckman always dreamed of moving to the US for work. So, in 2017, when Beckman got the opportunity to work at the California National Primate Research Center at UC Davis, she jumped on it. 'I was so excited,' she recalled. 'Coming to the US was always the dream. It was always the place to be, where there's the biggest investment in science.' But months into President Donald Trump's second term, as his administration wages an unprecedented war on the country's top universities and research institutions, Beckman no longer sees the US as a welcome home for her or her research, which focuses on how viral infections like Covid-19 affect the brain. She told CNN she now plans to move and is looking at opportunities in Germany and France. Beckman is part of a growing wave of academics, scientists and researchers leaving the US in what many are warning could be the biggest brain drain the country has seen in decades. But America's loss could be the rest of the world's gain. As the Trump administration freezes and slashes billions of dollars in research funding, meddles with curricula, and threatens international students' ability to study in the US, governments, universities and research institutions in Canada, Europe and Asia are racing to attract fleeing talent. The European Union pledged €500 million ($562 million) over the next three years 'to make Europe a magnet for researchers.' A university in Marseille, France, is wooing persecuted academics under a new program called a 'Safe Place for Science.' Canada's largest health research organization is investing 30 million Canadian dollars ($21.8 million) to attract 100 scientists early in their careers from the US and elsewhere. The Research Council of Norway launched a 100 million kroner ($9.8 million) fund to lure new researchers. The president of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University recently told a crowd at a higher education summit the school is identifying 'superstar' US researchers and making them offers as soon as the next day. The Australian Academy of Science also launched a new talent program to recruit disillusioned US-based scientists and lure Australians back home. 'We know these individuals are highly trained, talented, and have much to offer,' said Anna-Maria Arabia, chief executive of the academy, noting the program has received 'encouraging interest' so far. Arabia told CNN the flood of institutions rushing to fill the void left by US funding cuts reflects a 'global hunger' for science and technology professionals. 'It's vitally important that science can continue without ideological interference,' Arabia said. The US has long been a powerhouse when it comes to research and development, attracting talent from far afield with its big budgets, high salaries and swanky labs. Since the 1960s, US government expenditure in research and development (R&D) has more than doubled from $58 billion in 1961 to almost $160 billion in 2024 (in inflation-adjusted dollars), according to federal data. When incorporating R&D funding from the private sector, that number balloons to more than an estimated $900 billion in 2023. The US's enormous investment in R&D has led to an outsized influence on the world stage. The US has racked up more than 400 Nobel Prizes, more than double the amount of the next country, the United Kingdom. More than a third of the US's prizes were won by immigrants. 'We have been respected worldwide for decades because we have trained succeeding generations of researchers who are pushing into new territories,' said Kenneth Wong, a professor of education policy at Brown University. But Trump's second term has upended the relationship between higher education and the federal government. Trump's gutting of federal health and science agencies has led to sweeping job losses and funding cuts, including at the National Institutes of Health, which funds nearly $50 billion in medical research each year at universities, hospitals and scientific institutions. Between the end of February and the beginning of April, the administration cancelled almost 700 NIH grants totaling $1.8 billion, according to an analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The Trump administration has proposed reducing the NIH's budget in 2026 by 40%. The National Science Foundation has also slashed nearly $1.4 billion worth of grants. On Wednesday, 16 US states sued the Trump administration over the NSF cuts, which they argue will impede 'groundbreaking scientific research' and '(jeopardize) national security, the economy and public health.' Trump has also targeted elite universities and is in the middle of a legal battle with Harvard University over its refusal to bow to his administration's directives to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, resulting in billions in frozen federal funding. That battle significantly escalated this month when Trump banned Harvard's ability to enroll international students – a decision swiftly halted by a federal judge hours after Harvard filed suit. This week, the White House directed federal agencies to cancel all remaining contracts with Harvard. 'The president is more interested in giving that taxpayer money to trade schools and programs and state schools where they are promoting American values, but most importantly, educating the next generation based on skills that we need in our economy and our society: apprenticeships, electricians, plumbers,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News this week. 'We need more of those in our country, and less LGBTQ graduate majors from Harvard University.' Foreign institutions have already jumped on the chance to welcome Harvard students now caught in legal limbo. On Monday, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology said it will accept any Harvard students that wish to transfer, as well as prospective students with a current offer from Harvard. 'I see this as the most significant crisis that universities are facing since World War Two,' Wong said. 'We are seeing a complete reset of this collaborative relationship between the federal government and leading research institutions.' Once the beacon of scientific research, the US has now become an increasingly hostile place to study, teach, and do research. Three quarters of US scientists surveyed by the journal Nature in March said they were considering leaving because of the Trump administration's policies. Some have already jumped ship. Yale professors Jason Stanley, Marci Shore and Timothy Snyder, preeminent fascism scholars, announced in March they were leaving for the University of Toronto across the border in Canada because of Trump's affronts to academic freedom. Beckman, the Brazilian neuroscientist, said her lab has seen $2.5 million in grant funding cancelled in recent months. On top of these funding woes, Beckman said the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants, and shifting attitudes towards foreigners in the US, has also pushed her to look for work elsewhere. 'It's the first time since I moved here that I don't feel so welcome anymore,' she said. As the US research ecosystem responds to shrinking budgets and intrusions on academic freedom, early-career scientists are going to be hardest hit, Wong said. But younger researchers are also more mobile, and institutions around the world are welcoming them with open arms. 'What we are losing is this whole cadre of highly productive, young, energetic, well-trained, knowledgeable, advanced researchers who are primed to take off,' Wong said. Other countries have long deprioritized investment in scientific research as the US absorbed the R&D needs of the world, Wong said. But that trend is shifting. R&D spending in China has surged in recent decades, and the country is close to narrowing the gap with the US. China spent more than $780 billion on R&D in 2023, according to OECD data. The European Union is also spending more on R&D. R&D investment in the bloc has increased from about $336 billion in 2007 to $504 billion in 2023, according to the OECD. For a couple of months, Beckman said she considered stepping away from her Covid-19 research, which has become increasingly politicized under the Trump administration. But then she started getting interviews at institutions in other countries. 'There is interest in virology everywhere in the world except the US right now.'
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
The US has long been a research powerhouse. After Trump's cuts, other countries are stepping in
Growing up in Brazil, neuroscientist Danielle Beckman always dreamed of moving to the US for work. So, in 2017, when Beckman got the opportunity to work at the California National Primate Research Center at UC Davis, she jumped on it. 'I was so excited,' she recalled. 'Coming to the US was always the dream. It was always the place to be, where there's the biggest investment in science.' But months into President Donald Trump's second term, as his administration wages an unprecedented war on the country's top universities and research institutions, Beckman no longer sees the US as a welcome home for her or her research, which focuses on how viral infections like Covid-19 affect the brain. She told CNN she now plans to move and is looking at opportunities in Germany and France. Beckman is part of a growing wave of academics, scientists and researchers leaving the US in what many are warning could be the biggest brain drain the country has seen in decades. But America's loss could be the rest of the world's gain. As the Trump administration freezes and slashes billions of dollars in research funding, meddles with curricula, and threatens international students' ability to study in the US, governments, universities and research institutions in Canada, Europe and Asia are racing to attract fleeing talent. The European Union pledged €500 million ($562 million) over the next three years 'to make Europe a magnet for researchers.' A university in Marseille, France, is wooing persecuted academics under a new program called a 'Safe Place for Science.' Canada's largest health research organization is investing 30 million Canadian dollars ($21.8 million) to attract 100 scientists early in their careers from the US and elsewhere. The Research Council of Norway launched a 100 million kroner ($9.8 million) fund to lure new researchers. The president of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University recently told a crowd at a higher education summit the school is identifying 'superstar' US researchers and making them offers as soon as the next day. The Australian Academy of Science also launched a new talent program to recruit disillusioned US-based scientists and lure Australians back home. 'We know these individuals are highly trained, talented, and have much to offer,' said Anna-Maria Arabia, chief executive of the academy, noting the program has received 'encouraging interest' so far. Arabia told CNN the flood of institutions rushing to fill the void left by US funding cuts reflects a 'global hunger' for science and technology professionals. 'It's vitally important that science can continue without ideological interference,' Arabia said. The US has long been a powerhouse when it comes to research and development, attracting talent from far afield with its big budgets, high salaries and swanky labs. Since the 1960s, US government expenditure in research and development (R&D) has more than doubled from $58 billion in 1961 to almost $160 billion in 2024 (in inflation-adjusted dollars), according to federal data. When incorporating R&D funding from the private sector, that number balloons to more than an estimated $900 billion in 2023. The US's enormous investment in R&D has led to an outsized influence on the world stage. The US has racked up more than 400 Nobel Prizes, more than double the amount of the next country, the United Kingdom. More than a third of the US's prizes were won by immigrants. 'We have been respected worldwide for decades because we have trained succeeding generations of researchers who are pushing into new territories,' said Kenneth Wong, a professor of education policy at Brown University. But Trump's second term has upended the relationship between higher education and the federal government. Trump's gutting of federal health and science agencies has led to sweeping job losses and funding cuts, including at the National Institutes of Health, which funds nearly $50 billion in medical research each year at universities, hospitals and scientific institutions. Between the end of February and the beginning of April, the administration cancelled almost 700 NIH grants totaling $1.8 billion, according to an analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The Trump administration has proposed reducing the NIH's budget in 2026 by 40%. The National Science Foundation has also slashed nearly $1.4 billion worth of grants. On Wednesday, 16 US states sued the Trump administration over the NSF cuts, which they argue will impede 'groundbreaking scientific research' and '(jeopardize) national security, the economy and public health.' Trump has also targeted elite universities and is in the middle of a legal battle with Harvard University over its refusal to bow to his administration's directives to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, resulting in billions in frozen federal funding. That battle significantly escalated this month when Trump banned Harvard's ability to enroll international students – a decision swiftly halted by a federal judge hours after Harvard filed suit. This week, the White House directed federal agencies to cancel all remaining contracts with Harvard. 'The president is more interested in giving that taxpayer money to trade schools and programs and state schools where they are promoting American values, but most importantly, educating the next generation based on skills that we need in our economy and our society: apprenticeships, electricians, plumbers,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News this week. 'We need more of those in our country, and less LGBTQ graduate majors from Harvard University.' Foreign institutions have already jumped on the chance to welcome Harvard students now caught in legal limbo. On Monday, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology said it will accept any Harvard students that wish to transfer, as well as prospective students with a current offer from Harvard. 'I see this as the most significant crisis that universities are facing since World War Two,' Wong said. 'We are seeing a complete reset of this collaborative relationship between the federal government and leading research institutions.' Once the beacon of scientific research, the US has now become an increasingly hostile place to study, teach, and do research. Three quarters of US scientists surveyed by the journal Nature in March said they were considering leaving because of the Trump administration's policies. Some have already jumped ship. Yale professors Jason Stanley, Marci Shore and Timothy Snyder, preeminent fascism scholars, announced in March they were leaving for the University of Toronto across the border in Canada because of Trump's affronts to academic freedom. Beckman, the Brazilian neuroscientist, said her lab has seen $2.5 million in grant funding cancelled in recent months. On top of these funding woes, Beckman said the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants, and shifting attitudes towards foreigners in the US, has also pushed her to look for work elsewhere. 'It's the first time since I moved here that I don't feel so welcome anymore,' she said. As the US research ecosystem responds to shrinking budgets and intrusions on academic freedom, early-career scientists are going to be hardest hit, Wong said. But younger researchers are also more mobile, and institutions around the world are welcoming them with open arms. 'What we are losing is this whole cadre of highly productive, young, energetic, well-trained, knowledgeable, advanced researchers who are primed to take off,' Wong said. Other countries have long deprioritized investment in scientific research as the US absorbed the R&D needs of the world, Wong said. But that trend is shifting. R&D spending in China has surged in recent decades, and the country is close to narrowing the gap with the US. China spent more than $780 billion on R&D in 2023, according to OECD data. The European Union is also spending more on R&D. R&D investment in the bloc has increased from about $336 billion in 2007 to $504 billion in 2023, according to the OECD. For a couple of months, Beckman said she considered stepping away from her Covid-19 research, which has become increasingly politicized under the Trump administration. But then she started getting interviews at institutions in other countries. 'There is interest in virology everywhere in the world except the US right now.'
Business Insider
13-05-2025
- Health
- Business Insider
The American brain drain has arrived. Just ask these scientists.
Danielle Beckman moved to the US from Brazil in 2017 to further her research on Alzheimer's. Eight years later, she's making plans to leave. "I wanted to make my home here. I wanted to become a professor in the US and have my own lab here. I wanted to make my life here," the scientist at the University of California, Davis, who is now also researching long COVID, told Business Insider. "So it's just this feeling that at the same time that we see so many people sick and have hope with our research, the government doesn't think our research is important anymore." Beckman received notice last month that her five-year $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health would not be reviewed for renewal because it contained the word "COVID," which was flagged to lose funding under President Donald Trump's crackdown on research grants at higher-education institutions. She said she didn't see how her lab's work could continue without that funding. She accepted an offer for a new job in Germany, where she plans to continue her research. She's also exploring opportunities in France that would allow her to receive more funding. "I still think I can contribute a lot. It's just that there is no opportunity here anymore, and I don't want to waste my time," Beckman said. "It's not worth staying here." Over the past couple of months, the Trump administration has cut billions of dollars in funding to universities that do not comply with its demands, such as eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Some scientists told BI that the cuts would fuel a brain drain out of the US, and countries abroad are already capitalizing on the opportunity by promoting programs to attract US researchers. Madi Biedermann, the deputy assistant secretary for communications at the Department of Education, told BI: "Researchers have many reasons to prefer working on campuses that have not seen their operations consistently disrupted by vile antisemitic encampments, violence, and harassment." She added: "That is just one of the reasons the reforms the U.S. government is advocating are so important. American universities that are committed to their academic mission, protect students on campus, and follow all federal laws have no problem accessing generous taxpayer support for their programs. We expect they will continue to attract and support academic talent in the years to come." Beckman said that some of her colleagues in other fields of science were leaving and that it would be a major loss for the US. "I feel like my research is actually important, and it matters for other places; it just doesn't matter for the US government," Beckman said. "I was recruited from Brazil, and suddenly, I'm not useful to this country." 'I'd be on a plane tonight' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently unveiled a $566 million funding package to attract scientists from around the world. "Science holds the key to our future," she said. "Because as threats rise across the world, Europe will not compromise on its principles." British Columbia's health minister, Josie Osborne, said during a recent press conference that "uncertainty and chaos happening south of ourborder" presents an "unprecedented opportunity to attract skilled healthcare workers interested in moving to Canada." Another US researcher told BI that he checks the job boards every day for opportunities abroad. "I'd be on a plane tonight," the researcher, who is still employed at a US university, told BI. He said that he had applied for a few opportunities in Europe. While he has not landed a job yet, he said he would move in a heartbeat. He recognizes others may not have that kind of flexibility. "For the most part, people I've talked to are just kind of resigned to it and just hoping to ride it out," the researcher said. "I'm just in an extremely privileged position to even be able to consider that because it's such an expensive, time-consuming process, and it's very competitive to immigrate somewhere else." Some scientists facing funding cuts have filed lawsuits instead of moving abroad. BI previously spoke with Peter Lurie, a scientist who received NIH funding for HIV research that was cut because the grant mentioned transgender people. "The US and the NIH, in particular, have been the envy of the world when it comes to medical research. And what is already starting to happen is that the United States is starting to slip," Lurie said. "It means that there will be people who will go elsewhere for support. It means that there are people who will leave the country for lack of support." 'I'm glad that we're leaving' Alyssa Adams works for a lab based in Japan that studies artificial intelligence and artificial life. Adams has been going back and forth between the US and Japan for the past 2 ½ years, she said, and is planning to move to Japan permanently in a month. "It feels like we're jumping ship and it's awful, but I'm glad that we're leaving, honestly," Adams said. While Trump's funding cuts have not directly affected her research, the indirect impacts have been significant. Adams said the lab still applies for some grants based in the US and Trump's funding cuts are putting the lab's funding avenues at risk. As a result, Adams said the lab is looking to move the US nonprofits it works with to Japan to ensure certainty around its research funding. "It's definitely impacted how we feel about being in the United States generally because it was fine having one foot in Japan and then one foot in the United States for a while," Adams said. "But especially within the last year, there's been a really big shift, and feeling like this is not the place where you could do science and feel comfortable with it." Adams added that she had seen firsthand the wave of US scientists seeking to move abroad. She said that at her lab in Japan, there's been "a huge wave of applications" from people in the US, both from scientists who have had their research pulled and from those who have not yet been affected but don't feel comfortable staying in the country. The funding cuts have already displaced hundreds of University's acting president, Claire Shipman, recently announced that the university would terminate 180 employees who received federal grants affected by the cuts. "We do not make these decisions lightly," Shipman said. "We are deeply committed, at Columbia, to the critical work of invention, innovation, and discovery." Adams said it'd take a long time for the US to bounce back from these losses. "We're still doing our research. We're still advancing the march of discovery and doing everything that we can as researchers in a normal way," Adams said. "We're just doing it in places where we feel more welcome and where we feel like we can be ourselves. And unfortunately, these days it's not the United States."
Business Insider
13-05-2025
- Health
- Business Insider
Scientists are fed up with US cuts, saying it's 'not worth staying here'
Danielle Beckman moved to the United States from Brazil in 2017 to further her research on Alzheimer's. Eight years later, she's making plans to leave. "I wanted to make my home here. I wanted to become a professor in the US and have my own lab here. I wanted to make my life here," the scientist at the University of California, Davis, who is now also researching long-COVID, told Business Insider. "So it's just this feeling that, at the same time that we see so many people sick and have hope with our research, the government doesn't think our research is important anymore." Beckman received notice last month that her 5-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Institute of Health would not be reviewed for renewal because it contained the word "COVID," which was flagged to lose funding under President Donald Trump's crackdown on research grants at higher education institutions. She said she didn't see how her lab's work could continue without that funding. She accepted an offer for a new job in Germany, where she plans to continue her research. She's also exploring additional opportunities in France that would allow her to receive more funding. "I still think I can contribute a lot. It's just that there is no opportunity here anymore, and I don't want to waste my time," Beckman said. "It's not worth staying here." Over the past couple of months, the Trump administration has cut billions of dollars in funding to universities that do not comply with its demands, such as eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Some scientists told BI that the cuts will fuel a brain drain out of the US, and countries abroad are already capitalizing on the opportunity by promoting programs to attract US researchers. Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications at the Department of Education, told BI that "researchers have many reasons to prefer working on campuses that have not seen their operations consistently disrupted by vile antisemitic encampments, violence, and harassment." "That is just one of the reasons the reforms the U.S. government is advocating are so important," Biedermann said. "American universities that are committed to their academic mission, protect students on campus, and follow all federal laws have no problem accessing generous taxpayer support for their programs. We expect they will continue to attract and support academic talent in the years to come." Beckman said that some of her colleagues in other fields of science are leaving, and she said that it'll be a major loss for the US. "I feel like my research is actually important, and it matters for other places; it just doesn't matter for the US government," Beckman said. "I was recruited from Brazil, and suddenly, I'm not useful to this country." 'I'd be on a plane tonight' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently unveiled a $566 million funding package to attract scientists worldwide. "Science holds the key to our future," she said. "Because as threats rise across the world, Europe will not compromise on its principles." British Columbia's health minister, Josie Osborne, also said during a recent press conference that "uncertainty and chaos happening south of our border" presents an "unprecedented opportunity to attract skilled healthcare workers interested in moving to Canada." Another US researcher told BI that he checks the job boards every day for opportunities abroad. "I'd be on a plane tonight," the researcher, who is still employed at a US university, told BI. He said that he has applied for a few opportunities in Europe, and while he has not landed a job yet, he would move in a heartbeat. He recognizes others may not have that kind of flexibility. "For the most part, people I've talked to are just kind of resigned to it and just hoping to ride it out," the researcher said. "I'm just in an extremely privileged position to even be able to consider that because it's such an expensive, time-consuming process, and it's very competitive to immigrate somewhere else." Some scientists facing funding cuts have filed lawsuits instead of moving abroad. BI previously spoke to Peter Lurie, a scientist who received NIH funding for HIV research that was cut because the grant mentioned transgender people. "The US and the NIH, in particular, have been the envy of the world when it comes to medical research. And what is already starting to happen is that the United States is starting to slip," Lurie said. "It means that there will be people who will go elsewhere for support. It means that there are people who will leave the country for lack of support." 'I'm glad that we're leaving' Alyssa Adams works for a lab based in Japan that studies artificial intelligence and artificial life. Adams said she has been going back and forth between the US and Japan for the past two and a half years, and she is planning to move to Japan permanently in a month. "It feels like we're jumping ship and it's awful, but I'm glad that we're leaving, honestly," Adams said. While Trump's funding cuts have not directly affected her research, the indirect impacts have been significant. Adams said the lab still applies for some grants based in the US, and Trump's funding cuts are putting the lab's future funding avenues at risk. As a result, Adams said the lab is looking to move the US nonprofits it works with to Japan to ensure certainty surrounding its research funding. "It's definitely impacted how we feel about being in the United States generally because it was fine having one foot in Japan and then one foot in the United States for a while, but especially within the last year, there's been a really big shift and feeling like this is not the place where you could do science and feel comfortable with it," Adams said. Adams also said that she has seen firsthand the wave of US scientists seeking to move abroad. She said that at her lab in Japan, there has been "a huge wave of applications" from people within the US, both from scientists who have had their research pulled and from those who have not yet been affected but don't feel comfortable staying in the US. The funding cuts have already displaced hundreds of University President Claire Shipman recently announced that the university would terminate 180 employees who received federal grants affected by the cuts. "We do not make these decisions lightly," Shipman said. "We are deeply committed, at Columbia, to the critical work of invention, innovation, and discovery." Adams said it'll take a long time for the US to bounce back from these losses. "We're still doing our research, we're still advancing the march of discovery and doing everything that we can as researchers in a normal way," Adams said. "We're just doing it in places where we feel more welcome and where we feel like we can be ourselves. And unfortunately, these days it's not the United States."
