Foreign-born scientists such as myself have long been a key component of the U.S. research workforce. The work that scientists do greatly benefits the United States and the world. A significant share of the biomedical science talent in the pipeline at most American research universities are foreign-born. The ability of U.S. institutions to attract top talent from all over the world has been pivotal in maintaining the nation’s innovation, productivity, and dominance in science and technology.
But since the beginning of this year, there has been an accelerated push to disrupt this science talent pipeline that greatly benefits the U.S. The most recent attempt came in the form of an announcement that foreign students cannot remain in the country if all of their classes are online. Earlier, in February, people from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan, Myanmar, Nigeria, and Tanzania were added to the list of eight other countries banned from traveling to the U.S. on certain visas. And in June, the H1B visa ban was announced.
These ban announcements affect foreign-born talent outside the country. Overall, these visa bans will not benefit the U.S. as they disrupt the pipeline of scientific talent.
Other policy decisions that disrupt the pipeline of scientific talent include the proposed sizable reductions in funding for the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. The NIH generally funds domestic biomedical research that leads to advances in scientific knowledge. The NSF supports research and education across all scientific disciplines, underwrites scientific training, and promotes discovery.
The recent suspension of U.S. financial contributions to the World Health Organization further elevates the level of disruption. The NIH and the WHO also support scientific collaboration between scientists in the U.S. and other countries, training of scientists in the pipeline, and preparedness to mitigate serious diseases and infectious outbreaks. Foreign-born scientists in the pipeline in collaborative exchanges pursuing research on infectious diseases will be affected by this suspension
The foregoing suggests that the importance of foreign-born scientists and foreign collaborative training and research is lost to proponents of less immigration and scientific collaboration. The COVID-19 pandemic highlights how disruptions in the U.S. health defense preparation (which includes maintaining the pool of top-notch scientists) can affect public health and the economy.
The work by biomedical researchers is critical for the development of drugs and new tools to combat diseases and emerging pandemics. Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, due to the initial travel ban policies, many foreign-born scientists found it harder to attend meetings and symposiums to share their discoveries with American scientists. And many more face difficulties coming here to work, to share their advanced expertise in techniques and skills needed in some U.S. laboratories. These kinds of difficulties adversely affect biomedical researchers and the important work that they do.
I came to the U.S. as a young college student with confidence in its science education system. I continue to pursue biomedical research that advances America’s biomedical science interest. I also train and mentor students, including Americans.
My current research work involves trying to obtain three-dimensional structural images of proteins that have been implicated in cancer and cardiovascular disease development and progression. These 3D images allow one to visualize the location of every atom in the molecule, so that we can know important molecular sites on the protein involved in its interaction with partners and how it functions in normal and disease conditions. This kind of knowledge supports the development and optimization of drugs or vaccines that target critical proteins in cancer and cardiovascular disease conditions.
According to the American Cancer Society and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cancer and cardiovascular disease are the leading causes of death in the U.S. and put people at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Thus, my kind of work is of benefit to all Americans.
It can also be argued that foreign-born scientists trained in the U.S. can take the expertise gained to other countries. The net result is that in far-flung countries, emerging diseases in those communities can be contained and combated in those local areas by these scientists who left with American training. In the long term, this will help prevent the spread and resurgence of diseases such as COVID-19 back to the U.S.
But with these visa bans and policies to expel foreign students, top-notch young students from all over the world seeking to advance science in the U.S. might take their talent to other places instead. This would drain the U.S. biomedical research talent pool and disrupt U.S. innovation, productivity, and dominance in science in the future.
Jerry Madukwe is a postdoctoral scientist at Yale University. He was selected as a 2020 Washington Fellow of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics