Jason A. Mendoza, M.D., M.P.H.

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine

Section of Academic General Pediatrics

Research Member, Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center

Member, Houston Trauma LINK Coalition

Attending Pediatrician, Footsteps and CARE Clinic, Pediatric Ambulatory Center, Ben Taub General Hospital

jamendoz@bcm.tmc.edu

Education:

University of Washington, Seattle, Washington Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and School of Community and Public Health MPH (2006)
University of Washington/Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Seattle, Washington Pediatric Internship and Residency (2004)
Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL MD (2001)
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL BA (1996)

Research:

Representative Publications

Research Interests

My research areas include obesity and cancer prevention in children with a focus on minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. I lead the design, implementation, and evaluation of community and school-based behavioral programs aimed at (1) reducing sedentary activities or (2) improving physical activity and injury prevention in children.

I am the principal investigator on a school-based intervention to reduce sedentary activities, such as watching television and videos, for Head Start children. We are culturally adapting a promising television reduction curriculum for Hispanic preschool children attending Head Start. We have partnered with several Houston-area Head Start centers and enlisted their staff and families to provide input for the cultural adaptation process and to participate in the feasibility and future large scale trial of the adapted curriculum.

I am also the principal investigator on an evaluation of a “walking school bus” program. A walking school bus is a group of children led to and from school by several responsible adults. We are collaborating with the Houston Independent School District and other local agencies to (1) validate measures of student transportation and pedestrian safety behaviors and (2) conduct a pilot and feasibility trial of the walking school bus to evaluate its impact on elementary school students' mode of school transport, physical activity, pedestrian safety, and weight status.

I am also the principal investigator on several studies aimed at identifying risk factors for obesity, cancer, and related disorders in children and adults using nationally representative databases.

Representative Publications:

Mendoza JA, Drewnowski A, Cheadle A, Christakis DA. Dietary energy density is associated with selected predictors of obesity in US children. J Nutrition. May 2006;136(5):1318-22.

Mendoza JA and Hampson NB. Epidemiology of Severe Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Children. Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine. Nov-Dec 2006;33(6):439-46.

Mendoza JA, Drewnowski A, Christakis DA. Dietary energy density is associated with obesity and the metabolic syndrome in U.S. adults. Diabetes Care. Apr 2007;30(4):974-979.

Mendoza JA, Zimmerman F, Christakis DA. Television Viewing, Computer Use, Obesity and Adiposity in US Preschool Children. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. Sep 2007;4(1):44