Overview

• Federal research grants to Johns Hopkins and Harvard have been cut by about $3.4 billion, prompting hiring freezes and austerity measures at top institutions.
• In the first quarter of 2025, American applications for research positions abroad rose 32 percent year-on-year, and 75 percent of surveyed US scientists say they are considering leaving.
• European Union officials have committed more than $500 million to recruit displaced researchers, while universities in Hong Kong and Xi’an offer streamlined admissions and funding to US scholars.
• A projected 15.3 percent reduction in NIH-funded research could shrink the pipeline of new therapies and reduce average life expectancy by nearly three months, with economic losses valued in the trillions.
• Foreign-born researchers have historically driven US scientific breakthroughs, and their departure threatens the nation’s innovation ecosystem and long-term economic growth.