The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the State Research Agency have announced that more than 254 researchers from around the world applied for the latest edition of the Atrae program, their commitment to bringing consolidated talent of recognized international prestige to Spain. Of them, came from the United States. The figure is unprecedented and occurs in a context marked by the Americans, after the attempts at political control that Donald Trump wants to exercise over science in the country.
In the scholarship, in 2023, No US researcher managed to benefit from this aid. In the second, in 2024, the presence of profiles from this country was 16%. In 2025, the last year with available data, when the best science system in the world is experiencing one of the darkest moments in its history, unprecedented since World War II, the rate has doubled to 32%.
In this latest call, 37 scientists have been chosen. Of them, 21 come from academic institutions in the United States, although not all are Americans.
Vincenzo Calvanese (Naples, 43 years old) is one of the foreign researchers who decided to take the step in the 2024 call. That year, his group opened a new laboratory at the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute (IJC), in Barcelona, funded by the Atrae scholarship. “It was a very simple decision,” he says.
Before arriving in Spain, Calvanese spent 10 years in the United States—mainly at UCLA—where he lived during Donald Trump’s first presidency. From there he went to University College London and then moved to Spain. The main reason for his return to Europe, he says, has to do with the historical moment. “You take stock, think about your career and your lifestyle and the possibility of having a supportive environment where you can grow,” he details.
As he explains, the situation that his peers are going through has become complicated with Trump in the White House. “It is partly influencing the movement of professionals towards Europe,” says this researcher, who is currently working on new methods to treat leukemia and other blood diseases. “Many of my colleagues are having a very hard time due to the political and economic events that affect science,” he points out.
However, not all researchers can leave. “Even though they are not comfortable, they have no choice or they would lose too much and they hold on,” adds Calvanese. “I myself have called people who I thought might be interested in the scholarship,” he comments about this program of the ministry he heads. “What I tell them is that it is one of the few opportunities to ensure the future of research and some professional security. It is not all perfect, they still have things to fix, since it is a new program. But it does offer an opportunity like few others,” he adds.
“The United States is taking a step back”
The case of the hydrogeologist (Florida, 43 years old) is similar. Her experience at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya four years ago ended up defining her decision to apply for the scholarship and leave the US. “I couldn’t resist the opportunity to apply for the position. It is an honor to be able to transfer my career here and contribute to research,” says this American scientist, specialized in groundwater. “I had delivered the proposal to the Government of my country,” he clarifies. And he acknowledges that the American scientific environment has changed drastically since he left: “I have never seen a situation like this in the United States. I feel very bad for the researchers and students, they are very talented and are facing serious challenges.”
In the midst of the Cold War, the United States consolidated its leadership in scientific research thanks to . It is a reality that is now threatened with Trump in the White House. “The United States is taking a step back,” says the scientist.
The Trump Administration has systematically attacked science with cuts and freezing of funds and grants that support key research in biomedicine, and . Added to this is the war declared against some of the most prestigious universities in the country.
has suffered the cancellation of federal contracts and the threat of withdrawing funding, which has jeopardized the admission and permanence of , in a contest that is still being resolved. “It is more important than ever that we protect the development of research,” says Sawyer: “It is a very difficult time.”
Look at the origins of the solar system
The story of the Spanish woman (Oviedo, 55 years old) is different. The decision to return from the United States had a strong emotional component. Her career forced her to leave Asturias at a very young age because, she says, there was no possibility of training in astrophysics in her homeland at that time. The path she undertook in 2009 towards the United States led her to direct observations in the most advanced telescopes of our time, such as the Hubble. “I noticed that I needed my home, my system, my culture more and more,” he says.
The astrophysicist continues her research on the primitive materials of the solar system – linked to the largest space telescope in history – but now she does so at the Institute of Space Sciences and Technologies of Asturias (Ictea), at the University of Oviedo, after obtaining the scholarship in 2024. “It was a great joy to return home,” she says. And he continues: “[La iniciativa Atrae] I think it is exceptional for mobilizing talent and for that talent to come to Spain.”
