NEWS10 September 2025Nature talks to researchers about why they moved and how they relocated successfully.ByAlexandra WitzeAlexandra WitzeView author publicationsSearch author on: PubMed Google ScholarTheoretical chemist Alán Aspuru-Guzik advises committing to the local culture if you move to another country for a science job.Credit: Carlos OsorioAlán Aspuru-Guzik takes a lot of calls these days from scientists considering an exit from the United States. Aspuru-Guzik, a theoretical chemist, left Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during Donald Trump’s first term as US president, from 2017 to 2021, to join the University of Toronto in Canada and hasn’t looked back. “I’m the happiest guy here,” he says.Aspuru-Guzik left because he didn’t agree with Trump’s politics and policies. Now, eight months into the president’s second term, with the White House freezing billions of dollars in federal research grants and targeting international scholars and students seeking to work and study in the United States, many US-based researchers are looking abroad for jobs. “What I find is that people who weren’t asking the questions [about moving] before, they’re asking them now,” says Stephen Jones, a biochemist who moved from the University of Texas in Austin to Vilnius University in Lithuania in 2021.Here, Nature talks to Jones, Aspuru-Guzik and others who left during Trump’s first term about relocating and reshaping their careers. They have plenty of advice.Committing to the local cultureAlthough quantitative data are scarce, two Nature analyses earlier this year suggested that, because of the upheaval to US science, a significant proportion of US-based scientists are considering applying for jobs elsewhere — particularly in Europe or Canada.US brain drain: the scientists seeking jobs abroad amid Trump’s assault on researchAspuru-Guzik, a citizen of both the United States and Mexico (and soon to be one of Canada), began looking to leave Harvard when Trump was elected in 2016. As a presidential candidate, Trump had repeatedly denigrated immigrants and scientific research, and hinted at dismantling support for education. “Almost everything that’s happening now” is what Aspuru-Guzik feared might happen during Trump’s first term, he says.When you’re trying to identify a place to relocate to for the sake of your career, the theoretical chemist advises fully committing to the local culture and work environment. For instance, when he was considering Canada as a top option, he began reading local newspapers. “If you’re moving to a place, you have to understand the zeitgeist of that place,” he says.One common mistake he sees among expatriates is an unwillingness to embrace change, even though change is the ostensible reason for leaving the United States. Be humble, he says — and don’t assume “predetermination of the superiority of the American system”. Respect cultural differences, no matter how alien or familiar the new location might seem. “Canada is another country,” Aspuru-Guzik says. “It’s not the 51st state.”Learning how to adjustEcologist Camille Parmesan agrees. Originally from the United States, she was working in the United Kingdom when Trump was elected the first time and decided to stay abroad, moving to France as part of the French government’s ‘Make Our Planet Great Again’ programme to support climate science during Trump 1.0. “You’re the one who is going to have to adjust,” she says. “Europe is not going to adjust to you.”Learn the local language or expect to work with an interpreter, says Parmesan, who works at the French National Centre for Scientific Research’s Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station in Moulis. Professional conversations might be held in English, but in many countries, “if you’re going to buy a house, get into the health system, get a work visa — in those areas no one speaks English”, she says.Ecologist Camille Parmesan moved to France during Trump’s first presidency for a programme that supported climate science.Credit: BBVA FoundationFully committing to a new location means learning how to work within the system. Prepare by talking to a number of potential collaborators at a desired institution to understand the situation, Jones says. For laboratory scientists, he adds, there are basics to consider, such as whether equipment being relocated can function on a different country’s power supply, or where to source lab supplies.But these are minor inconveniences that, for him, are far outweighed by a better quality of life in Europe. Jones and his wife decided to relocate to Lithuania towards the end of the first Trump presidency, as they were assessing how their personal values meshed with those of the society around them — or not.doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-02895-y US brain drain: the scientists seeking jobs abroad amid Trump’s assault on research Hong Kong universities woo Harvard international students targeted by Trump Exclusive: a Nature analysis signals the beginnings of a US science brain drain These nations are wooing PhD students amid US funding uncertainties Arrests of scientists over smuggled samples add to US border anxiety How Trump 2.0 is reshaping scienceSubjectsScientific communityPoliticsFundingGovernmentLatest on:Jobs Associate or Senior Editor (Photocatalysis), Nature CommunicationsTitle: Associate or Senior Editor (Photocatalysis), Nature Communications Location: Berlin, New York, Jersey City, Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, (Hyb...New York City, New York (US)Springer Nature LtdGlobal Recruitment for Faculty, Postdocs, and Specialists at Hangzhou Institute of Medicine, CASSeeking exceptional Senior/Junior PIs, Postdocs, and Core Specialists globally year-roundHangzhou, ChinaHangzhou Institute of Medicine Chinese Academy of Sciences (HIMCAS)Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Machine IntelligenceJob Title: Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Machine Intelligence Locations: New York, New Jersey, Beijing or Shanghai (Hybrid working model) Appl...New York City, New York (US)Springer Nature LtdPostdoc in Causal Inference of Complex Gene NetworksDeveloping machine learning methods to infer multi-modal, condition-dependent causal gene networks from large-scale single-cell multi-omic datasets.Massachusetts (US)UMass Chan Medical School - GRN Lab