I received a 2.5m grant from the European Research Council to study how disease-causingbacteria swap genes with each other to become more infective or evade treatments. I and the scientists at my lab at Imperial College London were able to get to work on questions and experiments we had been planning for the past few years because of the advanced grant.
The funding was in danger a few weeks later. My grant, along with those of 142 other UK-based scientists, couldn't be taken up in this country because the UK didn't negotiate an agreement to remain in the EU'sHorizon Europe funding programme.
This posed a lot of problems. I began speaking with EU-based universities about moving the research programme, but there are eight to 10 other scientists working under me in my own lab, and I am the director of the UK's MRC Centre for Bacteriology and Infections. If scientists were to move to France or Spain, they would disrupt much more than just this one research project.
I lost the money because I didn't move. This was very hard to take. It isn't over yet. The UK government has indicated it will provide replacement funding through its own research and innovation scheme, but it is not certain if it will match all the terms of the ERC programmes. This part of our research is on hold until we are certain we have the stability we need to do science. I'm aware that some people left the country to work in Europe.
The issue is much larger than just our work. Scientists can do great work, but they need support and stability. Science in the UK seems more uncertain and uninviting as a result of the recent debacle. The UK used to be very good at attracting young and talented people. The economy and social and intellectual life of the country were helped by this.
This is changing. The United Kingdom is no longer attractive. In the last few years, less EU-based researchers have moved their work to this area. I think this will continue if the politics don't change. Many people here think that they will simply manage. I have been told that things will be okay if I get another grant or if I replace my grant money. That isn't the point I am concerned about the position of UK science in the world and what will happen in the future.
I really like this country. I came from Europe and have been here ever since. I feel welcome here and I am grateful to do my work here. I have never felt like a foreign person. I'm concerned that someone will make the same decision today. There are things that are not certain.
The director of the MRC Centre forMolecular Bacteriology and Infections is José R Penadés.
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