The French government has announced grant funding for 46 researchers coming to the country under its ‘Choose France for Science’ initiative, launched last year in a bid to attract international talent pivoting away from an increasingly hostile US research environment.
With 41 of the total relocating from US institutions, stakeholders have said the departures illustrate the damaging repercussions of funding cuts and visa volatility under the Trump administration, making it harder for scientists to pursue research and keep labs running.
“I worry the US is doing historic damage to our reputation as a global science leader, both in the funding structures and also in how we welcome global scholars,” American Council on Education (ACE) vice president Sarah Spreitzer told The PIE News.
“I believe we’ve already lost a generation of scientists who otherwise would’ve come to the US but have decided to do their studies in another country, or those postdoctoral students that suddenly saw their opportunities slip in 2025 and decided to start a career in industry.”
Spreitzer said the combined uncertainty around federal funding, the politicisation of grant programs and the volatility of visa programs was driving talent away from the US – something ACE warned the administration about amid sweeping research funding cuts and confusion around grant competitions last year.
“When top researchers depart, other nations benefit from their knowledge, ideas, and innovations, from the mentorship they provide to students and early-career researchers, and from the companies and technologies they help create,” said Toby Smith, senior vice president for government relations and public policy. at AAU.
“Brain drain puts America’s long‑term scientific leadership and competitiveness at risk,” warned Smith, urging the government to restore research investments and reaffirm its support for breakthrough science.
Of the US researchers turning to France, eight of them are from Columbia University, which saw $400 million in federal grants frozen in 2025 and the majority of its $1.3bn in annual government funding placed on hold.
Consequentially, the New York university was forced to terminate several National Institutes of Health (NIH) projects and lay off almost 180 employees, before settling with the administration for $200m to restore its funding.
France’s talent strategy is one of several drives to attract US scientists, including the European Commission’s €500m ‘Choose Europe’ program, launched last spring as widespread student visa revocations and grant funding cuts swept the US.
Spreitzer said spring 2025 was a time of heightened uncertainty for the field, warning that questions remain about the stability of NIH and the National Science Foundation (NSF), with the latter undergoing “reorganisation” and NIH missing over half of its directors.
What’s more, she said the administration was clearly trying to “shake up” traditional research funding models, as well as attempting to involve political appointees in the scientific peer review process.
The administration needs to understand they are making changes that are going to have a long-term impact
Sarah Spreitzer, ACE
“So, if you’re a scientist who’s looking to grow their work, trying to hire postdocs or mentor graduate students… you may start looking to other countries that can provide a more stable environment,” said Spreitzer.
When the French National Research Agency (ANR) launched the initiative in April 2025, it said France was “committed to standing up to attacks on academic freedom across the globe”. The €30m initiative is backed by the French government, which co-finances up to 50% of each research project.
Back in the US, visa volatility is adding to the uncertainty of the research ecosystem, as stakeholders widely anticipate a forthcoming rule to end duration of status and set fixed four-year time limits on student visas – meaning virtually every doctorate student would need to extend their visa to complete their studies.
What’s more, Spreitzer highlighted the knock-on impact of the brain drain for high need fields such as engineering and nursing and said the departure of international talent would reduce opportunities for domestic students to learn from international peers.
“I think the administration needs to understand they are making changes that are going to have a long-term impact, not just on the US economy, but on our overall innovation and research enterprise,” said Spreitzer.
She warned of fewer courses available to domestic students if universities are unable to hire international faculty through the H-1B visa program, which has been subject to numerous changes during Trump’s second term.
Notably, both Florida and Texas recently froze H-1B hiring at all public universities – with stakeholders warning of repercussions going far beyond scientific teaching, harming states’ housing, transport and healthcare, among other infrastructure.
While the news of faculty departing the US for Europe indicates how “dire” the attacks on academic freedom have become, Trinity College – Hartford professor Isaac Kamola urged colleagues not to give up defending it, emphasising the rarity of research mobility opportunities.
“Contingency, dwindling jobs and rampant underfunding of education, not to mention family and professional obligations, means that a lack of mobility is actually the norm across the academic profession.”
“That’s why it’s important to be fighting to preserve academic freedom, and for administrators to take up the cause alongside their faculty,” Kamola told The PIE.
