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Jennette Palcic Moreno

Moreno

Jennette Palcic Moreno, PhD, MA, FSBM

Associate Professor

Positions

Associate Professor
Pediatrics-Nutrition
ÌÇÐÄÊÓÆµ of Medicine
Houston, TX, US
Research Member
Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
Houston, Texas, United States
Member
Houston-Nutrition Obesity Research Center
Houston, Texas, United States
Faculty Affiliate
Texas Children's Hospital
Faculty Member
Texas Children's Research Institute

Addresses

Children's Nutrition Research Center (Office)
1100 Bates
Houston, TX, 77030
United States
Phone: (713) 798-7069
palcic@bcm.edu

Education

BA from Tulane University
05/2003 - New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Psychology
MA from Louisiana State University
08/2005 - Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
Clinical Psychology
PhD from Louisiana State University
08/2009 - Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
Clinical Psychology
Internship at ÌÇÐÄÊÓÆµ of Medicine
06/2008 - Houston, Texas, United States
Pediatric Psychology
Postdoctoral Fellowship at ÌÇÐÄÊÓÆµ of Medicine
06/2009 - Houston, Texas, United States
Pediatric Psychology

Honors & Awards

Young Investigator Award
Given to the most impactful young investigators of 2019 in recognition of her contributions to both advancing science and promoting the department’s vision to protect the health of children.
Department of Pediatrics, ÌÇÐÄÊÓÆµ of Medicine (11/2019)
Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
(12/2023)

Professional Interests

  • Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Obesity
  • Summer Weight Gain
  • Sleep
  • Circadian and Circannual rhythms
  • Behavioral Interventions
  • Evening Screen Media Use

Professional Statement

My previous research has demonstrated that children increase their weight status (standardized BMI) at a faster rate during the summer compared to the school year, contributing to increases in the rates of overweight and obesity among elementary school-age children. I am particularly interested in the role of children's sleep and circadian and circannual rhythms (i.e., daily and annual biological rhythms) in the seasonal variation of children's growth and their contribution to the development of obesity in children. My research has demonstrated that during summer children have a later sleep midpoint which is associated with greater increases in BMI during summer, though the link between later sleep timing and increases in BMI is unclear. As a result, my research has begun to examine factors that may be associated with later sleep and circadian timing and increases in adiposity, such as screen media use. I also have an interest in improving our assessments of children's sleep and screen media use using passive objective assessment methods.

Selected Publications

  • Chen PW, Jansen EC, Cielo CM, Williamson AA, Banker M, Kaye M, Song PXK, Peterson KE, Cantoral A, Téllez-Rojo MM, Goldstein C, Zanna K, Sano A, Moreno JP, Kalkwarf H, Zemel BS, Mitchell JA. " " Sleep. 2026 Feb ; 49 (2) : zsaf282.
    Pubmed PMID: .
  • O’Connor TM, Garza T, Alam U, Kumar Vadathya A, Moreno JP, Beltran A, Haidar S, Haidar N, Hughes SO, Thompson D, Musaad SMA, Baranowski T, Mendoza JA, Young J, Sano A, Veeraraghavan A. " " Behav Inf Technol. 2026 Feb ; 45 (3) : 564-575.
    Pubmed PMID: .
  • Alfano CA, Moreno JP. " " JAMA Pediatr. 2025 Sep ; 179 (9) : 950-951.
    Pubmed PMID: .
  • Zeraattalab-Motlagh S, Syau E, Dadabhoy H, Hardin AL, Musaad SMA, Park RJ, Baranowski T, Thompson D, Moreno JP. " " Obes Rev. 2025 May ; 26 (5) : e13883.
    Pubmed PMID: .

Memberships

Society of Behavioral Medicine
Sleep Research Society
Society for Research on Biological Rhythms
Obesity Society
International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
Society of Pediatric Research

Funding

Goodnight Screen Media Study: Experimental effects of children’s evening media use on circadian phase, sleep, and executive functioning
#P01HD109876
(09/09/2022 - 08/31/2027)
Grant funding from NICHD
The goal of this study is to systematically test the timing of tablet use relative to bedtime on the sleep, circadian phase, and executive functioning of 4-year-olds.
Sleep, Circadian Rhythms, and Electronics in the Evening Study (Screens Study): Experimental Effects of Light and Content from Evening Screen Media Use on Children's Sleep, Executive Functioning, and Emotion Regulation
#R01HD112349
(09/01/2023 - 08/31/2028)
Grant funding from NICHD
This study will systematically disentangle the impact of light exposure from screens from the impact of arousing media content on children’s sleep regulation as well as next-day emotion regulation and executive functioning. Using innovations in the objective assessment of tablet use, we will control for differences in children’s objectively assessed tablet use history. Our findings will have implications that will inform screen media use guidelines for school-age children.
Development of a novel noninvasive wearable sensor to assess circadian rhythmicity in children and adults
(01/01/2024 - 12/31/2025)
Grant funding from PATHS-UP Seed Fund Award (NSF)
We propose to develop and validate a non-invasive, multimodal wearable microfluidic sweat sensor for multiplexed quantification of melatonin and cortisol to assess circadian rhythmicity in children and adults by providing continuous monitoring of melatonin and cortisol, two important biomarkers of circadian phase.
Physical activity, energy balance, sleep and health in children
#58-3092-5-008
(10/01/2024 - 09/30/2029)
Grant funding from USDA/ARS
This project will examine the association between children’s sleep and circadian health and children’s energy expenditure during screen and non-screen based sedentary activity.

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