For decades, the United States has been a destination for scientific talents from around the world. Now, this may change with the Trump administration’s massive layoffs and slashing scientific research at the NIH.
Earlier this month, a proposal leaked, showing a draft plan for the Trump administration to lay down the NIH budget. NIH is the largest biomedical research institution in the world. The government's proposal will cut more than 40% from its $47 billion budget and consolidate its 27 institutions and centers to eight, eliminating four.
The program has swept the institutions and the broader scientific community, as a large amount of medical research depends on NIH funding. It also seems likely that young scientists will continue to work abroad.
"Because of what happened in these dramatic months, we're likely to see reverse brain loss and we're starting to lose some of our best, smartest young scientists because they think they'll have a better chance in another part of the world," said Dr. Francis Collins. "That would be very miserable."
Collins worked for the agency for 32 years, including 12 years as a director. While at the institution, he helped mentor many young scientists. He told 60 minutes that the upheaval has affected researchers just starting their careers, both because of the cuts in funding for necessary lab supplies and because many universities have stopped replacing new graduate or postdoctoral fellows.
"This is a generation we may lose our young talent," Collins told 60 Minutes reporter Sharyn Alfonsi. "They are the people who are going to make the next breakthrough for cancer and diabetes and rare diseases, many of whom are unsure (in the United States) there is a path."
Collins said the United States has been a destination for medical research, but other countries, including China, are starting to catch up. Collins said China will take advantage of any losses from U.S. momentum.
China, along with Australia and Europe, has promoted its recruitment efforts in hopes of taking advantage of the potential "brain drain" of the United States. In France, a new program within the University of AIX Marseille called "Safe Science Sites" has been dedicated to millions of dollars to attract students from the United States
It seems that scholars are ready to be seduced. Three-quarters of U.S. researchers and graduate students who conducted a recent survey in the Journal of Weekly Science said they were considering leaving the U.S. to work.
But foreign plans are not applicable to changes in the United States. Last month, the Trump administration sent a survey to some international institutions and universities around the world that received our funds from various federal sources. The questionnaire asked researchers whether they comply with U.S. government interests, including ending DEI and climate initiatives.
Kristin Weinstein, a PhD candidate at the University of Washington, said she believes the Trump administration's actions were intentional.
"Scientists are a group of people who are highly educated and good at forming communities," Weinstein told 60 minutes. "And I think that by returning scientific research and creating brain drain, it helps to consolidate control and power."
To continue studying cancer and autoimmunity after graduation, Weinstein and her family are considering going abroad. So far, she has explored options in Europe and Canada.
Weinstein fears that the US's losses in medical research could lead to gains from other countries - including China.
"I think even if you don't have scientists who specialize in China, they're dispersed wherever they're going," she said. "So you're losing a talented group of people in the United States, who are currently the global leader in biomedical research."
If the United States loses its position as a leader in biomedical research, the consequences will be more than just health – they will also be related to economics.
Collins pointed to the Human Genome Project, which he has led for most of its 13 years. From 1990 to 2003, the project brought about $3 billion in U.S. taxpayers. Collins said the current estimate is that its return on investment is more than $1 trillion.
"If we had an occasion like this now, a project that appeared like a human genome project, some very big, bold, and some risky projects, but if it works, would we have the courage to accept it in this case?" Collins speculated. "Or would anyone else do that?"
Image source: Photos and videos courtesy of NIH Clinical Center, Getty Images & AFP.
The video above was produced by Brit McCandless Farmer and edited by Scott Rosann.