Federal policies in the United States, grant cancellations, and funding freezes have put the future of biomedical research at risk. A new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) reveals that young scientists are leaving academia in large numbers.
The researchers — Rafaella Sadun of Harvard Business School, Pierre Azoulay of MIT, and Daniela Scur of Monash University — surveyed 916 PhD students and postdoctoral researchers from 770 biomedical laboratories across 134 institutions in the United States.
The findings revealed a sharp decline. In just six months, the share of scientists planning to remain in academia fell from 66% to 44%. The 22-percentage-point drop affected all research groups equally, regardless of laboratory size, funding source, or researchers’ career stage.
The survey also revealed several other worrying trends:
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The share of respondents wishing to remain in the United States fell from 93% to 72%.
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Among international researchers, the desire to stay in the country declined by 31% — twice as much as among US citizens.
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Satisfaction with choosing a PhD program fell from 92% to 76%.
Visa uncertainty and limited funding are placing a particularly heavy burden on international researchers.
“We are watching the loss of an entire generation of scientists. They came here to study, invested their time, and we nurtured this talent. Now these people are telling us, ‘We want to leave,’” says Rafaella Sadun.
The authors consider these findings an early warning sign. PhD students and postdoctoral researchers form the core of the next generation of leading scientists. If young researchers turn away from academic careers, American science could feel the consequences of this loss for decades to come.
