Jennette Palcic Moreno

Jennette Palcic Moreno, PhD, MA, FSBM

Associate Professor

Email

palcic@bcm.edu

Positions

Associate Professor: Pediatrics-Nutrition
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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 ��: 06/2008 - Houston, Texas, United States; Pediatric Psychology

Postdoctoral Fellowship at ��: 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, �� (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.

Websites

Moreno Research Lab

Selected Publications

So A, Setodji KD, Kelley MA, Akmyradov C, Soltero EG, Thompson D, Dave JM, Moreno JP, Musaad SM. " Evaluating the impact of social, economic, and built environmental factors on obesity and walkability. " Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2026 Oct ; 23 (11) : 1366.
Chen, PW, Cielo C, Walch O, McDonald M, Song PXK, Goldstein C, Moreno JP, Jansen EC, Mitchell JA. " " Sleep. 2026 Oct ; [Epub ahead of print] : doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsag282.
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Weaver RG, Finnegan O, White JW 3rd, Kiely K, Armstrong B, Beets MW, Adams EL, Burkart S, Savidge MC, Randolph G, Culverhouse J, Holmes A, Sarzynski MA, Kaczynski AT, Bohnert A, Moreno JP. " " Child Obes. 2026 Sep ; 22 (6) : 347-351.
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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.
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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.
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Alfano CA, Moreno JP. " " JAMA Pediatr. 2025 Sep ; 179 (9) : 950-951.
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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.
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Vadathya AK, Garza T, Alam U, Ho A, Musaad SMA, Beltran A, Moreno JP, Baranowski T, Haidar N, Hughes SO, Mendoza JA, Veeraraghavan A, Young J, Sano A, O'Connor TM. " " Sci Rep. 2024 Nov ; 14 (1) : 29805.
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Garg M, Guo H, Maclam E, Zhanov E, Samudrala S, Pavlov A, Rahman MS, Namkoong M, Moreno JP, Tian L. " " ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2024 Sep ; 16 (35) : 46113-46122.
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Weaver RG, White JW 3rd, Finnegan O, Armstrong B, Beets MW, Adams EL, Burkart S, Dugger R, Parker H, von Klinggraeff L, Bastyr M, Zhu X, Bandeira AS, Reesor-Oyer L, Pfledderer CD, Moreno JP. " " Child Obes. 2024 Apr ; 20 (3) : 155-168.
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Thompson D, Mirabile Y, Islam N, Callender C, Musaad SMA, Miranda J, Moreno JP, Dave JM, Baranowski T. " " Nutrients. 2023 Jun ; 15 (12) : 2716.
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Moreno JP, Wood AC, Reichek B, Dadabhoy H, Baranowski T, Thompson D, O'Connor TM. " " Sleep Health. 2023 Jun ; 9 (3) : 306-313.
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Moreno JP, Hannay KM, Goetz AR, Walch O, Cheng P. " " Obesity (Silver Spring). 2023 Mar ; 31 (3) : 642-651.
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Goetz AR, Jindal I, Moreno JP, Puyau MR, Adolph AL, Musaad S, Butte NF, Bacha F. " " Am J Clin Nutr. 2022 Nov ; 116 (5) : 1334-42.
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Moreno JP, Hannay KM, Walch O, Dadabhoy H, Christian J, Puyau M, El-Mubasher A, Bacha F, Grant SR, Park RJ, Cheng P. " " Sleep. 2022 Jun ; 45 (6) : zsac061.
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Moreno JP, Dadabhoy H, Musaad S, Baranowski T, Thompson D, Alfano CA, Crowley SJ. " " JMIR Res Protoc. 2022 May ; 11 (5) : e37002.
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Moreno JP, Musaad S, Dadabhoy H, Baranowski T, Crowley SJ, Thompson D, Johnston CA. " " Front Physiol. 2022 May ; 13 : 793999.
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Preto LT, Scarpatto CH, Ley LLG, Silveira C, Salerno MR, Moreno JP, Castro SMJ, Booij L, Mattiello R. " " J Pediatr (Rio J). 2022 Jan ; 98 (1) : 84-91.
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Moreno JP, Razjouyan J, Lester H, Dadabhoy H, Amirmazaheri M, Reesor-Oyer L, O'Connor TM, Hernandez DC, Najafi B, Alfano CA, Crowley SJ, Thompson D, Baranowski T. " " Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2021 Jul ; 18 (1) : 94.
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Nicholson LM, Egbert AH, Moreno JP, Bohnert AM. " " Int J Behav Med. 2021 Apr ; 28 (2) : 227-37.
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Hannay KM, Moreno JP. " Integrating wearable data into circadian models. " Curr Opin Syst Biol. 2020 Aug ; 22 : 32-8.
Moreno JP, Crowley SJ, Alfano CA, Thompson D.. " " Obes Rev. 2020 Mar ; 21 (3) : e12973.
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Vaughan EM, Johnston CA, Moreno JP, Cheskin LJ, Dutton GR, Gee M, Gaussoin SA, Knowler WC, Rejeski WJ, Wadden TA, Yanovski SZ, Foreyt JP. " " Obes Sci Pract. 2019 Dec ; 6 (1) : 28-38.
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Baranowski T, Motil KJ, Moreno JP. " " Child Obes. 2019 Sep ; 15 (6) : 359-62.
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Moreno JP, Crowley SJ, Alfano CA, Hannay KM, Thompson D, Baranowski T.. " " Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2019 Mar 7; 16 (1) : 25.
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Baranowski T, Motil KJ, Moreno JP.. " " Child Obes. 2019 Mar ; 15 (4) : 223-6.
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Lanzarote-Fernández MD, Lozano-Oyola JF, Gómez-de-Terreros-Guardiola M, Avilés-Carvajal I, Martínez-Cervantes RJ, Moreno JP.. " " Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Mar 6; 16 (5) : 810.
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Johnston CA, Moreno JP, Hernandez DC, Link BA, Chen TA, Wojtanowski AC, Foster GD, Foreyt JP. " " Int J Obes (Lond). 2019 Jan ; 43 (1) : 125-31.
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Baranowski T, Motil KJ, Moreno JP. " " Curr Nutr Rep. 2019 Jan ; 8 : 1-10.
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Reesor L, Moreno JP, Johnston CA, Hernandez DC.. " " J School Health. 2019 Jan ; 89 (1) : 59-67.
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Vaughan EM, Johnston CA, Cardenas VJ, Moreno JP, Foreyt JP. " " Diabetes Educ. 2017 Dec ; 43 (6) : 589-99.
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Arlinghaus KR, Moreno JP, Reesor L, Hernandez DC, Johnston CA. " " Prev Chronic Dis. 2017 Oct ; 14 : E92.
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Moreno JP, Vézina-Im LA, Vaughan EM, Baranowski T.. " " BMJ Open. 2017 Oct ; 7 (10) : e017144.
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Vézina-Im LA, Moreno JP, Thompson D, Nicklas TA, Baranowski T. " " BMJ Open. 2017 Jun ; 7 (6) : e016592.
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Vézina-Im LA, Moreno JP, Nicklas TA, Baranowski T. " " Syst Rev. 2017 May ; 6 (1) : 95.
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Johnston CA, Moreno JP, Hernandez DC, Reichek B, Foreyt JP. " Dissemination of a school-based obesity intervention for Mexican Americans: A randomized controlled trial. " Health Behav Policy Rev. 2017 ; 4 (5) : 454-65.
Vaughan EM, Moreno JP, Hyman D, Chen TA, Foreyt JP. " " Arch Gen Intern Med. 2017 ; 1 (2) : 17-22.
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Moreno JP, Vaughan E, Hernandez D, Cameron RT, Foreyt JP, Johnston CA. " " J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2016 Dec ; 3 (4) : 582-9.
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Moreno JP, Johnston CA, Hernandez DC, LeNoble J, Papaioannou MA, Foreyt JP.. " " Pediatr Obes. 2016 Oct ; 11 (5) : 354-60.
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Chen TA, Baranowski T, Moreno JP, O'Connor TM, Hughes SO, Baranowski J, Woehler D, Kimbro RT, Johnston CA.. " " BMC Public Health. 2016 Jul 7; 16 : 526.
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Chen TA, Baranowski T, Moreno JP, O'Connor TM, Hughes SO, Baranowski J, Woehler D, Kimbro RT, Johnston CA.. " " Pediatr Obes. 2016 Apr ; 11 (2) : 88-94.
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Vaughan EM, Cardenas VJ, Moreno JP. " A student directed curriculum to overcome nutrition education barriers in medical school. " Journal of Postdoctoral Research. 2016 Mar ; 4 (3) : 22-6.
Moreno JP, Mohammed A, Moore CE, Johnston C. " " J Appl Res Child. 2015 ; 6 (2) : 15.
Moreno JP, Johnston CA, Chen TA, O'Connor TA, Hughes SO, Baranowski J, Woehler D, Baranowski T.. " " Obesity (Silver Spring). 2015 Feb ; 23 (2) : 422-8.
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Johnston CA, Moreno JP, Foreyt JP. " " Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2014 Dec ; 16 (12) : 457.
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Johnston CA, Moreno JP. " Development of a school-based obesity intervention for Mexican Americans. " Clin Pract Pediatr Psychol. 2014 Jun ; 2 (2) : 116-30.
Johnston CA, Moreno JP, Chen TA, Stansberry SA, Woehler D. " Impact of pediatric obesity on grades in elementary school. " J Appl Res Child. 2014 ; 5 (1) : 11.
Baranowski T, O'Connor T, Johnston C, Hughes S, Moreno J, Chen TA, Meltzer L, Baranowski J. " " Child Obes. 2014 Feb ; 10 (1) : 18-24.
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Johnston CA, Rost S, Miller-Kovach K, Moreno JP, Foreyt JP. " " Am J Med. 2013 Dec ; 126 (12) : 1143.e19-24.
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McFarlin BK, Johnson CA, Moreno JP, Foreyt JP. " " J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2013 Dec ; 57 (6) : 718-21.
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McFarlin BK, Johnston CJ, Carpenter KC, Davidson T, Moreno JL, Strohacker K, Breslin WL, Foreyt JP. " " Matern Child Nutr. 2013 Oct ; 9 (4) : 524-32.
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Johnston CA, Moreno JP, Gallagher MR, Wang J, Papaioannou MA, Tyler C, Foreyt JP. " " J Adolesc Health. 2013 Sep ; 53 (3) : 335-41.
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Moreno JP, Johnston CA, Woehler D. " " J Sch Health. 2013 Jul ; 83 (7) : 473-7.
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Moreno JP, Johnston CA, El-Mubasher AA, Papaioannou MA, Tyler C, Gee M, Foreyt JP. " " Nutr Res. 2013 Jul ; 33 (7) : 552-6.
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Johnston CA, Moreno JP, El-Mubasher A, Gallagher M, Tyler C, Woehler D. " " J Sch Health. 2013 Mar ; 83 (3) : 171-81.
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Johnston CA, Moreno JP, El-Mubasher A, Woehler D. " " Child Obes. 2012 Aug ; 8 (4) : 364-8.
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Johnston CA, Moreno JP, Regas K, Tyler C, Foreyt JP. " " J Pediatr Psychol. 2012 Jul ; 37 (6) : 674-9.
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Breslin WL, Johnston CA, Strohacker K, Carpenter KC, Davidson TR, Moreno JP, Foreyt JP, McFarlin BK. " " Pediatrics. 2012 May ; 129 (5) : e1180-6.
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Johnston CA, Tyler C, Stansberry SA, Moreno JP, Foreyt JP. " " J Adolesc. 2012 Apr ; 35 (2) : 455-9.
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Moreno JP, Kelley ML, Landry DN, Paasch V, Terlecki MA, Johnston CA, Foreyt JP. " " Int J Pediatr Obes. 2011 Jun ; 6 (41307) : e480-6.
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Johnston CA, Palcic JL, Tyler C, Stansberry S, Reeves RS, Foreyt JP. " " J Am Diet Assoc. 2011 May ; 111 (5) : 716-20.
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Johnston CA, Tyler C, Palcic JL, Stansberry SA, Gallagher MR, Foreyt JP. " " J Pediatr. 2011 Apr ; 158 (4) : 624-7.
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Johnston CA, Fullerton G, Moreno JP, Tyler C, Foreyt JP. " " Georgian Med News. 2011 ; (196) : 93-100.
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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.

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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