Brain drain is a real bummer for smaller countries, you know? All the brainiacs leave to chase opportunities in big ol’ countries like the U.S. But hey, the tables might be turning now. Adrian Ma and Darian Woods from The Indicator From Planet Money have the scoop.
Armando Rosario-Lebron has had a thing for bugs since he was a little tyke in Puerto Rico. Now, he’s all grown up and living the bug life as a biological science technician at the Smithsonian Institution. He’s also a union vice president, representing federal workers in border biosecurity.
Armando explains how important it is to keep an eye on insects at the border. Like, imagine a banana coming from Costa Rica and ending up in the U.S. Those bananas gotta be inspected to make sure no pesky bugs hitched a ride. ‘Cause if they did, it could mean billions of dollars in damage for U.S. farmers. Yikes!
But lately, with all the job cuts and funding freezes, Armando’s been feeling iffy about staying in the U.S. He even applied for a Ph.D. program in the U.K. and got accepted. Tough choice, man.
Overseas universities and labs are all jazzed up about folks like Armando thinking about jumping ship from the U.S. Kevin Smith from Canada’s University Health Network noticed a spike in interest from researchers at top U.S. institutions. Like, 5 to 10 times more peeps were reaching out to him for job deets.
The NIH has been playing hardball, blocking grant applications left and right. They even threatened to cut billions in health sciences funding if scientists didn’t play by their rules. Talk about a power move!
But Kevin saw an opportunity in all this chaos. He rallied some funders and came up with a plan to bring in 100 fresh-faced scientists to his hospital. And guess what? 400 peeps are already lining up for a spot. They’re into cancer research, neurology, you name it.
Scientists wanna be where they can ask questions and share their findings. And if that means leaving the U.S., so be it.
We asked the NIH and the White House if they were worried about all this brain drain. The NIH said they’re all about supporting research, while the White House thinks they’re just cleaning up the mess from the previous administration.
As for Armando, he’s taking the plunge and heading to the U.K. for that Ph.D. program. Good luck, bug whisperer!
Darian Woods and Adrian Ma reporting for NPR News.
