Kimberly Horn

Kimberly Horn was inducted into the inaugural College of Applied Human Sciences Hall of Fame in the fall of 2025. She was previously inducted into the College of Education and Human Services Hall of Fame in 2013.

Horn earned her master’s degree in 1993 and her doctorate in education in 1997 from West Virginia University. During her time at WVU, she held faculty positions in the School of Medicine and served as Associate Center Director of Population Health Research at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center. She directed the Evaluation Oversight and Coordinating Unit for the West Virginia State Tobacco Prevention Program and received the WVU School of Medicine Dean’s Award for Research Excellence in 2005.

Nationally recognized for her research in youth tobacco cessation, Horn co-developed a widely used program in partnership with the American Lung Association. She later held leadership positions at The George Washington University, including professor and Associate Dean of Research in the School of Public Health, where she helped shape research-to-policy initiatives in public health and addiction science.

At Virginia Tech, she became founding director of the Opioid Research Consortium of Central Appalachia (ORCCA), where she helped communities expand evidence-based prevention and treatment initiatives in response to the opioid crisis. She has served as Professor and Scientist at the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance and led research efforts addressing the public health impacts of addiction, loneliness, and social connection.

Horn has secured funding for more than 50 research projects and authored over 160 scientific publications. Her work has been featured in national outlets including TIME, CNN, USA Today, and The New York Times. She is the author of Friends Matter, For Life, a best-selling book focused on social connection and well-being.