I am actually one of those "returning Italian scientists."1 I studied in the US for six years, from 1996 to 2002. I took my PhD in molecular cellular and developmental biology at Yale University and then decided to come back to work in Italy, thanks to this "Rientro dei Cervelli" program. I was given a stipend for three years (although not comparable to European standards), some money for research expenses, and a lab where I could work (in la Sapienza University, in Rome). Not a very bad deal, according to Italian standards, in fact.
But what really worried me was what to do when this contract is over. In fact, nobody knows what is going to happen to us at that point. Publishing in Italy is a slow process, meaning that in three years' time we'll be much less competitive with other scientists and will have less opportunity to find ...
