When David Kareken, PhD, learned he had been selected for a Fulbright Program U.S. Scholar Award, he saw it as both a professional milestone and a rare opportunity to expand his research across borders.
“I was very honored to have been selected by the Franco-American Fulbright Commission to represent American scientific research in my field,” said Kareken, professor of neurology at the Indiana University School of Medicine and director of the Indiana Alcohol Research Center. “Given my longstanding familiarity with France and its language, the award brought a special opportunity to practice my profession there.”
Kareken received the award from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board to conduct functional neuroimaging research in France for four months.
From September to December 2025, Kareken worked at the University of Strasbourg in Alsace, France. He also collaborated with researchers from the University of Paris and Fernand-Widal University Hospital to investigate different areas of alcohol use disorder and gave lectures on the topic at different universities.
“Research in my lab and the Indiana Alcohol Research Center examines dynamic changes in brain functional connectivity — how brain activity in different regions rises and falls in synchrony — across different mental states,” Kareken said. “We study how these dynamics are related to familial risk for alcohol use disorder, cognitive risk factors, and we hope in the future, treatment outcomes.”
Kareken’s host lab in France is doing related research in animals, he said. Although rodents and humans have clear anatomical differences, imaging studies show they share similar functional brain networks.
“Our collaboration should therefore facilitate translation and validation across the species to understand brain dynamics in alcohol use disorder and its risks — work that we are now continuing at a distance,” Kareken said.
Lecturing at the University of Strasbourg also led to “some targets of opportunity” that Kareken said his lab hopes to leverage going forward.
“Novel analytic methods developed by faculty at the University of Strasbourg will help us to understand our own data in human brain functional connectivity, and which may also be applicable to our Alcohol Research Center’s animal studies,” he said. “We also continue to explore how the use of our center’s selected lines of alcohol-preferring animals can help the Strasbourg imaging group’s own research aims.”
Beyond the lab, Kareken also lectured high school students in Colmar, France, as part of his Fulbright experience. He spoke about alcohol use, its effects on the brain, as well as the brain and behavioral factors that increase the risk of developing alcohol use disorder.
“Engaging with these students was a truly gratifying way of deepening my knowledge of the French language in my field and integrating with the community,” he said.
Kareken has been a Department of Neurology faculty member and director of its neuropsychology section since 1997. In addition to serving as the department’s vice chair for research, he is jointly appointed in the departments of Psychiatry and of Radiology and Imaging Sciences.
“It was truly wonderful to see Dr. Kareken honored as a recipient of a Fulbright Award,” said Laurie Gutmann, MD, chair of the Department of Neurology at the IU School of Medicine. “He is an incredible asset to our department with his thoughtful approach to research, leadership and mentoring as vice chair of research for neurology. This award reflects his hard work and vision for growth and continued collaboration in the field of alcohol research.”
Since 1946, the Fulbright Program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide, has provided more than 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research abroad.
Kareken encourages other IU faculty members to apply to the Fulbright program, which is designed to foster the exchange of ideas, build meaningful connections and help address complex global challenges.
“It is not only a mechanism for rewarding scientific exchanges; it is intended to foster mutual understanding between U.S. citizens and those of other countries,” Kareken said. “That is, local community engagement is not just a nearby opportunity; it is a requirement.”
