The GW School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) has named Kimberly A. Horn as its first associate dean of research, a position designed to develop the culture, environment and infrastructure to elevate the school’s research excellence nationally and globally.
Dr. Horn previously served as associate center director of population health research for the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center at West Virginia University.
“Dr. Horn’s appointment as our first associate dean of research marks a watershed moment in the history of our school,” said SPHHS Dean Lynn Goldman. “Her excellent research background and leadership capabilities will further our academic excellence as we continue to build a world-renowned research institution.”
Dr. Horn’s research expertise is in intervention science: tobacco, alcohol and other drug prevention/intervention trials in school, clinic and community-based settings. She has published more than 60 articles relative to the field of tobacco research, including a study in the journal Pediatrics last year that caught the attention of TIME, CNN, USA Today and the New York Times.
During her tenure at West Virginia University, Dr. Horn, a Robert C. Byrd professor in the School of Medicine, managed a diverse research portfolio funded by federal, state and private agencies. She oversaw the Translational Tobacco Reduction Research Program and developed the internationally recognized program of research in teen smoking cessation known as Not On Tobacco (N-O-T), formally adopted by the American Lung Association in 1998. The program has helped thousands of youth stop smoking around the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognized N-O-T as one of the most impactful public health programs of the past decade. Dr. Horn also served as the co-director of the CDC-funded Prevention Research Center, where she emphasized a community-based participatory research approach that took into account the voices of community members, especially the historically underserved.
At GW, Dr. Horn will also hold a faculty appointment as a professor in the GW’s Department of Prevention and Community Health.
“I am humbled by the opportunity to serve the faculty, students and staff of this institution,” she said. “Although I am the first associate dean of research, the School of Public Health and Health Services is certainly already achieving research prominence and impact. Given the faculty innovation, the school’s commitment to research infrastructure and Dean Goldman’s transformative vision, imagine what the next five years will bring.”
Dr. Horn earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and a master’s degree in social work and a doctorate in educational psychology from West Virginia University.
“I can’t envision a more exciting place to be a research dean,” said Dr. Horn. “We are uniquely poised to conduct research creating widespread policy, practice and heath behavior change across diverse groups and communities.”