In 2018, Jeremy Liew, 31, moved from New Jersey to Boston, Massachusetts, to pursue a PhD in Chemistry. He expected to quickly find employment in the United States' leading biotechnology capital.
After graduating from the University of Massachusetts last year, reality became a nightmare. Liew applied for approximately 500 positions in the city, but all were unsuccessful. To sustain himself and pay rent, he had to register for government food assistance and work part-time for an AI startup.
Liew began considering leaving the United States. "Many people advised me to go to China because the industry there is booming," he stated.
Similarly, Pierce Cousins, who graduated with a degree in bioengineering from Harvard University in May, was determined to find work in Boston. However, by November, Cousins accepted a sales position at a software company in San Francisco, more than 3,000 km from home.
According to federal data, Massachusetts lost approximately 65,000 jobs in biotechnology research and development (R&D) in 2024, following years of strong growth. Layoffs are projected to continue into 2025, while the pace of new hiring remains stagnant.
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Kendall Square – a life sciences hub next to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Photo: Kendall Square at MIT
The cause is attributed to the "rampant construction" of research facilities in previous years.
"If there is a good idea, 10 companies will be built at once to pursue it," stated Alexis Borisy, founder of Boston-based biotechnology venture capital firm Curie.Bio.
However, soaring interest rates after the pandemic led to a tightening of investment capital. According to data from MassBio, investment in the sector during the first half of 2025 fell to its lowest level since 2017.
In the first half of 2025, a funding round for promising startups statewide, known as an average seed round, secured only 7,7 million USD, a decrease of approximately 31% compared to the three-year average.
Research facilities also face budget cuts from the government. The Grant Witness research group reported that the US government ended tens of millions of USD in funding for Massachusetts this year. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced in November that it would evenly distribute resources to all states instead of concentrating them in Massachusetts as in previous years.
The dual blow of funding cuts transformed once-bustling research complexes into desolate areas. In Kendall Square – a life sciences hub adjacent to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – 17% of laboratory space was vacant in September, according to real estate firm CBRE. Four years prior, the vacancy rate there was only 0,4%.
To cope, businesses have been forced to halt new laboratory construction, lay off staff, or relocate headquarters to regions with lower costs.
For Adam Rafter, 26, who submitted over 300 job applications since August but has received no response, the future of science appears bleaker than ever. Rafter shared that he lives in fear of not finding a job in his field.
In response to this situation, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey proposed a 400 million USD plan to attract investment and offset reduced research funding this year. However, the bill is still awaiting legislative review.
Khanh Linh (According to The Wall Street Journal, Web Pro News)
