After more than a year of federal grant cancellations, delays and clawbacks by the Trump administration, dozens of researchers will leave positions at American universities for new roles in Canada.
Several scientists currently working in Massachusetts will make the switch, which was announced by several Canadian schools Thursday. In all, the Canadian government has committed more than $1 billion in grant funding for the poached researchers.
Among those heading north is UMass Chan Medical School’s Phillip Zamore, who will move his RNA-focused lab to McGill University in Montreal. Also joining McGill is Ethan Zuckerman, a media expert who directs the UMass Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure, and Sameer Sonkusale, a biomedical engineer at Tufts University.
“Today’s appointments reflect what universities do best: advancing knowledge while transferring it from one generation to the next,” said Angel Campbell, McGill’s provost in a statement.
Zamore, who chairs the RNA Therapeutics Institute at UMass Chan, will receive at least 12 million Canadian dollars (about $8.7 million) over eight years — plus several million more for equipment. He plans to establish his new lab at McGill and said at least three of his lab members plan to move with him.
The departure comes as many scientists consider their options amid the Trump administration’s efforts to overhaul how the government reviews and funds scientific research. Hundreds have already left the country, raising alarms about the potential for a “brain drain” among talented researchers and graduate students.
Zamore said he began exploring opportunities in Germany, Denmark and then Canada in the early months of the second Trump administration when he said scientific research seemed to be “just another political plaything.” With cuts and delays in federal funding, Zamore said he was unable to replace two of his 14 lab members. He let two other staffers go and stopped taking graduate students.
“I cannot do my best work in America,” said Zamore. “I can’t recruit the best people to help me do that, and I can’t promise them an environment where they’ll be safe.”
Zamore has co-founded three biotech companies in Massachusetts, including Cambridge-based Alnylam, which together employ nearly 3,000 people. His work is the foundation for drugs that treat high cholesterol, hemophilia and several other rare diseases. Zamore holds 119 patents, has published more than 150 research papers and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.
Canada isn’t the only country pledging significant funds to recruit U.S. scientists during the second Trump administration. The U.K. is spending roughly $70 million over five years, which has already brought at least five researchers from universities in the U.S. The Netherlands’ “Tulip Fund” has attracted 29 U.S. researchers with up to about $1 million over five years. Earlier this year, France announced that 41 U.S. scientists had accepted French grants. And the list goes on.
As these countries boost funding for scientific research, grant opportunities in the U.S. are shrinking and becoming less reliable. Data collected by the nonprofit government watchdog group Grant Witness show 20% fewer awards to researchers from the National Institutes for Health, and a 12% drop in funds as of July 1, as compared to July 1, 2024 before President Trump began his second term. At the National Science Foundation, the group found 59% fewer grants were awarded funds during the same period, and the agency released more than 30% less money.
“We are slamming the breaks on innovation, slamming the breaks on the economy and losing our leadership role in science,” said Grant Witness co-founder Scott Delaney. “China and other countries are going full steam ahead.”
Dr. Eric Rubin, editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, said he’s already seen an upswell in research coming out of China.
“We publish much more work from China now than we ever did,” he said, “and that’s increased almost exponentially in the last few years.”
Rubin said while the number of American-born scientists leaving for other countries may be increasing, he is seeing many more foreign-born scientists decide the U.S is no longer a safe or attractive place to work.
“The U.S. has become a less attractive place to do science,” said Rubin. “Clearly the changes that have been made are going to affect science for several years.”
It’s unclear how many scientists have left the U.S. or plan to. But a poll in March of 2025 conducted by the journal Nature, found 75% of more than 1,600 researchers were considering a move because of Trump administration disruptions to science. Nature’s analysis of job applications showed a 41% increase in interest for positions in Canada early last year.
Victor Ambros, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine, said he joined the faculty at UMass nearly 20 years ago, in large part because of the institute Zamore built and its world-class reputation.
“Zamore standards, or ‘How would Phil do this?’ is a concept we all think about here at UMass Chan,” said Ambros. “But Phil’s departure is a not surprising consequence of the Trump administration’s attacks on universities, funding agencies and the uncertainties it’s created for scientists.”
Ambros said proposed state aid could help prevent more departures. The DRIVE Initiative would create a $100-$200 million bridge fund to help scientists at universities keep their labs running during funding delays that have become routine since Trump resumed office.
“When President Trump began attacking research funding, we warned the consequences would reach far beyond the lab,” Gov. Maura Healey, who proposed the legislation, wrote in an emailed statement. “Massachusetts is competing globally for talent and investment, and we need the tools to win.”
UMass Chan Medical School Chancellor Dr. David McManus said Zamore is not the first researcher to leave the school as research awards and federal dollars dwindle, although he declined to provide a specific number. McManus said Zamore’s legacy will help sustain the school’s work on RNA therapeutics.
Zamore “created a culture of scientific excellence that has positioned UMass Chan as a leader in RNA biology and drug discovery,” McManus wrote in an email. “We remain deeply committed to advancing RNA therapeutics, investing in our faculty and sustaining the next generation of pioneering researchers who will build on that remarkable foundation.
Zamore attended Harvard, raised a family in Massachusetts and spent his entire career in the state. He expects to continue collaborating with colleagues here, but said he worries some will feel abandoned at one of the most difficult times in their careers.
“There’s a feeling of fear I’ve never seen in labs,” he said. “Science is incredibly fragile. A year or two gap in funding can spell the end of a research program, discoveries that could end up making new medicines and helping people live healthier lives are simply lost.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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