Leading Harvard statistician exits US amid brain drain trend

Liu Jun, one of the world’s leading statisticians and a Harvard University professor since 2000, has left the U.S. to join Tsinghua University in Beijing. His appointment as Xinghua Distinguished Chair Professor on Aug. 30, underscores a growing brain drain from American institutions, as other countries ramp up efforts to recruit top researchers.

Liu was born and raised on the Tsinghua University campus, where his father taught. He earned a mathematics degree at Peking University before moving to the U.S. for graduate studies, completing a doctorate in statistics at the University of Chicago in 1986. He began his academic career at Rutgers University and in 2000 became a tenured professor at Harvard. His research in Bayesian statistics, computational biology and machine learning earned him the COPSS Award in 2002, the Morningside Gold Medal in 2010 and election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2025.

Liu also contributed to the development of statistical sciences in Beijing. He became a visiting professor at Tsinghua in 2005, helped launch the Center for Statistical Science in 2015 and played a central role in creating the Department of Statistics and Data Science in 2024. At his appointment ceremony, he said his decision to relocate was guided by “a love for education and scientific research as well as a sense of patriotism.”

Liu’s move comes amid policies that raised concerns among international researchers about their long-term prospects in the U.S. Cuts to research funding during Donald Trump’s administration created uncertainty in academia, while immigration restrictions further strained the climate. By August 2025, federal authorities had canceled more than 6,000 student visas, including some at Harvard and Stanford. The administration also intensified scrutiny of scholars with research ties to China, leading to investigations, job losses and prosecutions that fueled distrust among academics.

The U.S. Justice Department’s “China Initiative,” launched in 2018, marked the beginning of a sharp rise in departures. The program placed scientists of Chinese descent under heightened scrutiny, discouraging them from applying for federal grants and leading many to leave. A 2023 Stanford study found that exits among Chinese-origin scientists from U.S. institutions rose by 75% after the initiative began. China has been a primary beneficiary, drawing returnees to its universities and research programs.

China is not the only country benefiting from the brain drain caused by U.S. policy shifts. In France, a university in Marseille has launched a “Safe Place for Science” program for displaced academics, while Canada has committed about $15 million to bring in 100 early-career researchers. Singapore, Australia and Britain, among others, are similarly working to recruit expatriates and disillusioned academics.