Sir

As a scientist from Slovakia, one of the Eastern European countries in the process of joining the European Union, I was pleased to see your Opinion article “Too quiet on the Eastern front” discussing science in Eastern Europe (Nature 421, 459; 2003).

After spending five years doing my PhD in Austria and two more years as a postdoc in England, I was interested in returning to Slovakia to pursue my scientific career there. I was kindly offered a university position with the possibility of starting my own group — but the salary was only SKK100,000–200,000 ($2,550– $5,100) a year. Because I have two children I had no choice but to look for other options.

I have realised that, unfortunately, there are no fellowships that would allow me to go back to Slovakia. The situation is similar in all Eastern European countries: universities nurture talents for the Western countries.