Kahler Stone is an Associate Professor at Middle Tennessee State University, where he serves as the Coordinator for the B.S. in Public Health degree program and co-leads the Public Health Assessment, Surveillance, and Epidemiology (PHASE) Lab. His work focuses on teaching and conducting research in epidemiology, with a specific emphasis on public health capacity, healthcare-associated infections, and community health assessments. He has led projects funded by the CDC and HRSA, including opioid response programs and public health surveillance validation.

Before academia, Kahler worked as a local epidemiologist in Texas and has extensive experience in disaster epidemiology, building capacity in local health departments, and conducting community health assessments. He also worked internationally in Zambia, contributing to HIV/AIDS prevention trials.

Outside of work, Kahler enjoys spending time with his wife (Katy), three children (Abby, Ava, and Ameynah), and two dogs (Mosi and Jakie Robinson), often at the soccer fields or in the outdoor kitchen. 

« Read Less

Select Publications:

Scales, S. E., Kintziger, K. W., Stone, K. W., Jagger, M. A., & Horney, J. A. (2024). Burnout among public health workers during the COVID-19 response: Results from a follow-up survey. PLOS Mental Health, 1(3), e0000100.

Stone, K. W., Jagger, M. A., Horney, J. A., & Kintziger, K. W. (2023). Changes in anxiety and depression among public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic response. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 96(9), 1235-1244.

Stone, K. W. (2023). Impacts of the COVID-19 response on the governmental public health workforce. In COVID-19, Frontline Responders and Mental Health: A Playbook for Delivering Resilient Public Health Systems Post-Pandemic (pp. 153-175). Emerald Publishing Limited.

Haley, C. O., Gross, T. T., Story, C. R., McElderry, C. G., & Stone, K. W. (2023). Social media usage as a form of breastfeeding support among black mothers: A scoping review of the literature. Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health, 68(4), 442-448.

Horney, J. A., Harjivan, A., Stone, K. W., Jagger, M. A., & Kintziger, K. W. (2023). Threats to public health workers. Public Health in Practice, 6, 100435.

Karaye, I. M., Stone, K. W., & Horney, J. A. (2022). Determinants of under-five mortality in an armed conflict setting: Empirical findings from the demographic and health surveys. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(21), 14179.

Scales, S. E., Patrick, E., Stone, K. W., Kintziger, K. W., Jagger, M. A., & Horney, J. A. (2022). Lessons learned from the public health workforce's experiences with the COVID-19 response. Health Security, 20(5), 387-393.

Pfender, E. J., Stone, K. W., Kintziger, K. W., Jagger, M. A., & Horney, J. A. (2022). Anxiety and depression among public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Emergency Management, 20(9), 19-26.

Clay, L. A., Stone, K. W., & Horney, J. A. (2022). Quantifying disaster impacts on local public health agency’s leadership, staffing, and provision of essential public health services. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 16(4), 1552-1557.

Stone, K. W., Kintziger, K. W., Jagger, M. A., & Horney, J. A. (2021). Public Health Workforce Burnout in the COVID-19 Response in the U.S. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(8), 4369. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084369

Stone, K. W., Felkner, M., Garza, E., Perez-Patron, M., Schmit, C. D., McDonald, T. J., & Horney, J. A. (2021). Changes to Timeliness and Completeness of Infectious Disease Reporting in Texas After Implementation of an Epidemiologic Capacity Program. Public Health Reports. https://doi.org/10.1177/00333549211009490

Stone, K. W., Felkner, M., Garza, E., Perez-Patron, M., Schmit, C., McDonald, T. J., Horney, J.A. (2021). Characterizing epidemiologic surge capacity in a large, decentralized state health department, Texas, 2017. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 1–8. http://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2020.471

Stone, K. W., Felkner, M., Perez-Patron, M., Schmit, C., McDonald, T. J., Horney, J.A. (2019). How does Surge Capacity Positions Increase Epidemiologic Capacity? Results from a Qualitative Study of Texas Local Health Departments. Health Security. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1089/hs.2019.0083  

Karaye, I., Stone, K. W., Casillas, G. A., Horney, J.A. (2019). A spatial analysis of possible environmental exposures in recreational areas impacted by Hurricane Harvey flooding, Harris County, Texas. Environmental Management. DOI: 10.1007/s00267-019-01204-4.  

Stone, K. W., Casillas, G. A., Karaye, I., Camargo, K., McDonald, T. J., Horney, J.A. (2019) Using spatial analysis to examine potential sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Manchester neighborhood of Houston, Texas. Environmental Justice. https://doi.org/10.1089/env.2019.0007

Stone, K. W., Morehead, B. F., Karaye, I., Davis, C.M., Horney, J.A. (2018). Evaluating Effectiveness of a Full-Scale Exercise of Epidemiologic Capacity for Bioterrorism Response. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. doi: 10.1515/jhsem-2017-0061.  

Sansom, G. T., Stone, K. W., Kirsch, K. R., Horney, J.A. (2018). Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in residential dust collected in the Manchester neighborhood of Houston, Texas. Environmental Justice. doi: https://doi.org/10.1089/env.2018.0004.  

Bernhart, J.A., Ylitalo, K.R., Doyle, E., Umstattd Meyer, M.R., Wilkinson, L.R., Stone, K.W. (2018) Leveraging Household Structure for Increasing Adult Physical Activity in a Low-Income, African American Community. Health Promotion Practice. doi: 10.1177/1524839918814731.  

Horney, J.A., Casillas, G.A., Baker, E., Stone, K. W., Kirsch, K. R., Camargo, K., Wade, T. L., McDonald, T.J. (2018). Comparing Residential Contamination in a Houston Environmental Justice Neighborhood before and after Hurricane Harvey. PLoS ONE 13(2): e0192660. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192660  

Sansom, G. T., Stone, K. W., Horney, J.A. (2017). Investigating Injuries Seen in Area Physician Offices after a Fertilizer Plant Explosion Trauma Case Reports. Texas Public Health Journal. Summer2018, Vol. 70 Issue 3, p28-30.  

Smitherman, S., Stone, K. W., Hammond, T., Goldberg, D., Horney, J.A (2017). Assessing the Prevalence of Risk Factors for Neglected Tropical Diseases in Brazos County, Texas. 2017 Oct 4. PLOS Currents Outbreaks. Edition 1. doi: 10.1371/currents.outbreaks.93540c6c8c7831670591b0264479269c.  

Stone, K. W., Sierocki, A., Shah, V., Ylitalo, K. R., Horney, J.A. (2017). Conducting community health needs assessments in the local public health department: A comparison of Random Digit Dialing and the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. Mar/Apr;24(2):155-163 doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000522.  

Zane, D., Haywood, T., Adams, B., Alva, H., Heines, V., Feldt, B., Rosen, J., Henry, J., Thompson, K.,  Stonum, S., Kiger, J., Johnson, K., Wiltz-Beckham, D., Gomez, M., Short, K., Stone, K. W., Horney, J. A. (2016). Lessons Learned from the Field: Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER). Texas Public Health Journal 68(1):6-13.  

Metzger, K, Akram, H, Felt, B, Stone, K. W., Alvey, S, Henley, S, Hernandez, A, Melville, S, Haywood, T, Zane, D. (2016). Epidemiologic Investigation of Injuries Associated with the 2013 Fertilizer Plant Explosion in West, Texas. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 10(4):583-90  

Ylitalo, K. R., Stone, K. W., Umstattd Meyer, M. R., Doyle, E. I., Curtis, R. (2016). Using the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) to assess barriers to healthy eating and active living in a low-income community. Evaluation and Program Planning 59:41-46.

Stone, K. W., Pry, J, Akram, H. (2014). An Overview of Tobacco-Free Policy among Worksites in a Central Texas County. Texas Public Health Journal 66(4):18-22.   

« Read Less

Select Presentations:

Stone K. W., Kiger, J., Calhoun, D., Kirsch, K., Shah, V. Assessments in the Recovery Phase of the Disaster Management Cycle. Disaster Epidemiology Workshop, 2019. May 14-15. 2019. Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), Atlanta, GA.

Horney J.A., Stone K.W., Casillas G, McDonald T.J.. Assessing Environmental Justice Neighborhood Soils for Contamination after Hurricane Harvey Flooding. Soils Across Latitudes: 2018-2019 International Soils Meeting, January 6-9, 2019.

Horney, J. A., Stone, K. W., Kirsch, K.R., Knap, T. Poster Presentation. Partnering to Improve Understanding of Chronic and Acute Neighborhood-Level Contamination, Manchester, Houston, Texas.  December 10-14, 2018. American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, Washington, D.C.

Stone, K. W., Felkner, M., Perez-Patron, M., Schmit, C., McDonald, T., Horney, J. A., Oral Presentation. Assessing the impact of epidemiologic surge capacity provided to improve foodborne illness and respond to high consequence infectious disease in Texas, 2012 – 2016.  November 10-14, 2018. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo, San Diego, CA.  

Casillas G, Stone K.W., McDonald T.J, Horney J.A. A longitudinal assessment of PAHs in Houston parks following Hurricane Harvey, NIEHS Superfund Research Center Annual Meeting November 2018.

Casillas G, Stone K.W., Horney J.A. Spatial distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Manchester neighborhood of Houston. Lone Star Chapter of the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting September 2018 – 2nd Place Poster Award

Stone, K. W., Morehead, B. F., Davis, C.M. Oral Presentation. Exercising Epidemiology: Epidemiology and Preparedness Coordination. October 4-5, 2017. Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Workshop, Austin, TX.

Horney J.A., Casillas G., Sansom G., Stone K. W., McDonald T. Oral Presentation. Disasters and Environmental Vulnerability: Partnering to Measure Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals after Hurricane Harvey. April 2018. NACCHO Public Health Preparedness Summit, Atlanta, GA.

Stone, K. W., Banks, R. Oral Presentation. Perinatal Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus: When Late Intervention Fails. March 27-29, 2017. Texas Public Health Association: Annual Education Conference, Ft. Worth, TX.

Stone, K. W., Sierocki, A., Shah, V., Ylitalo, K., Doyle, E. Poster Presentation. Using Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) for health indicators in distinctly different neighborhoods.  March 27-29, 2017. Texas Public Health Association: Annual Education Conference, Ft. Worth, TX.

« Read Less

Kahler's research has increasingly focused on public health assessment and surveillance, aligning with his efforts to expand and develop the Public Health Assessment, Surveillance, and Epidemiology (PHASE) Lab at MTSU. His recent work centers on opioid prevention through HRSA-funded initiatives and quantifying stigma toward people who use drugs, particularly in rural and underserved communities. This shift also includes a strong emphasis on spatial analysis, identifying vulnerable populations, and addressing environmental injustice, with a specific focus on long-term health outcomes in the southeastern United States. Building on his local epidemiology experience, Kahler's research now aims to strengthen public health infrastructure, improve surveillance systems, and address health disparities through innovative assessment and validation techniques.

« Read Less

Tennessean, Asymptomatic players, incubation, infection led to Nashville SC withdrawal in MLS Is Back, July 12, 2020. Available at: https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nashvillesc/2020/07/12/ nashville-sc-covid-19-mls-back-tournament/5382043002/

MTSU Out of the Blue, New Master’s Degree Program, January 2, 2020. Available at: https://mtsunews.com/out-of-the-blue-jan-2020/

Environmental Health Perspectives, Wristbands for Research: Using Wearable Sensors to Collect Exposure Data after Hurricane Harvey, April 23, 202018. Available at: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP3131

National Public Radio, Air Pollution from Industry Plagues Houston in Harvey’s Wake, September 14, 2017. Available at: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/09/14/550472740/air-pollution-from -industry-plagues-houston-in-harveys-wake

National Public Radio, The Chemical Dangers in Houston’s Manchester Neighborhood, September 2, 2017. Available at: http://www.npr.org/2017/09/02/548076049/the-chemical-dangers-in-houston-s- manchester-neighborhood

KWBU-National Public Radio Affiliate, County Health Assessment Shows New and Persistent Concerns, July 6, 2016. Available at: http://kwbu.org/post/county-health-assessment-shows-new-persistent-concerns #stream/0

« Read Less