Carlos Penilla, DrPH

Dr. Penilla is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine. Dr. Penilla's public health research work focuses on improving the quality of preventive healthcare for underserved youth through his mixed methods intervention research, as well as program development, implementation and evaluation work with community health organizations. He holds faculty affiliations in UC Berkeley's Berkeley Center for Social Medicine, and UCSF's Center for Health and Community. His pediatric research examines obesity in families, with a special focus on the role that fathers play in preventing obesity in their children. In addition, Dr. Penilla's translational research work examines the design and development of AI-generated narrative-centered interactive behavioral health interventions in adolescents and young adults to help enhance and ensure representation and responsiveness. His other interests include STEM education, public health policy, and mentoring underrepresented students.
Education
Postdoctoral Fellow, 03/2021 - Pediatrics, UCSF
DrPH, 05/2018 - Public Health, UC Berkeley
Graduate Fellow, 05/2017 - Social Change Research, Institute for the Study of Societal Issues, UC Berkeley
MS, 05/2000 - Clinical Psychology, San Francisco State University
Honors and Awards
  • The Society of Hellman Fellows, UCSF, 2024
  • Population Health and Health Equity Scholars Program, UCSF Latinx Center of Excellence, 2024
  • Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program, NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, 2019
Websites

  1. Penilla C, Berna MS, Pugatch M, Kumaran V, Hennigan S, Tebb KP, Buckelew S, Sinha A, Rowe JP, Giovanelli A, Lester JC, Barron C, Einhorn L, Ozer EM. An Interactive Narrative Intervention to Increase Adolescents' Knowledge and Self-Efficacy to Reduce Alcohol Use: Pre-Post Study. JMIR formative research 2026. PMID: 42573736


  2. Mott B, Vandenberg J, Penilla C, Navarro JR, Lester J, Ozer E. A Theory-Informed Narrative-Centered Model to Foster AI Literacy and Biomedical Career Interest. FDG : proceedings of the International Conference on Foundations of Digital Games. International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games 2026. PMID: 42639528


  3. Penilla C, Martinez SM, Deardorff J, Tschann JM, Greenspan LC, Flores E, Pasch LA. Fathers' Presence Makes a Difference During Children's Evening Meals. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 2026. PMID: 42835663


  4. Vandenberg J, Mott B, Penilla C, Lester J, Ozer E. Introducing Adolescents to the Social Dimensions of AI through Story-Driven Game-Based Learning. Artificial intelligence in education : 27th international conference, AIED 2026, Seoul, South Korea, June 27-July 3, 2026, proceedings. Part VI. International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (27th : 2026 : Seoul, Kore... 2026. PMID: 42840989


  5. Mott B, Vandenberg J, Penilla C, Hennigan S, Lester J, Ozer E. AI4Health: A Narrative-Centered Educational Game for AI-Infused Biomedical Career Exploration. IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games : [proceedings]. IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games 2025. PMID: 42639518


  6. Mott B, Vandenberg J, Penilla C, Hennigan S, Navarro R, Lester J, Ozer E. Designing a Narrative-Centered Game to Promote AI Literacy and Health Career Exploration. IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games : [proceedings]. IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games 2025. PMID: 42639499


  7. Pugatch M, Blum NJ, Barbaresi WJ, Rowe J, Berna M, Hennigan S, Giovanelli A, Penilla C, Tebb KP, Mott M, Kumaran V, Buckelew S, Lester JC, Ozer E. Engagement of adolescents with ADHD in a narrative-centered game-based behavior change environment to reduce alcohol use. Frontiers in Education 2024. PMID: 39868002


  8. Giovanelli A, Rowe J, Taylor M, Berna M, Tebb KP, Penilla C, Pugatch M, Lester J, Ozer EM. Supporting Adolescent Engagement with Artificial Intelligence-Driven Digital Health Behavior Change Interventions. Journal of medical Internet research 2023. PMID: 37223987


  9. Marianne Pugatch, Sean Hennigan, Mark Berna, Megan Mott, Alison Giovanelli, Jonathan Rowe, Carlos Penilla, Kathleen P. Tebb, Elizabeth Ozer. 103. The Preferences and Experiences of Adolescents with ADHD in INSPIRE: A Mixed Methods Pilot Study of Engagement and Parent-teen Communication in a Narrative Game-based Learning Environment for Risky Alcohol Use Prevention. Journal of Adolescent Health 2023. PMID:


  10. Penilla C, Tschann JM, Pasch LA, Flores E, Deardorff J, Martinez SM, Butte NF, Greenspan LC. Style of meal service and feeding practices among Mexican American fathers and mothers: An analysis of video-recorded children's evening mealtime at home. 2021. PMID: 34883137


  11. Mott M, Mott B, Rowe J, Ozer E, Giovanelli A, Berna M, Pugatch M, Tebb K, Penilla C, Lester J. "What's Important to You, Max?": The Influence of Goals on Engagement in an Interactive Narrative for Adolescent Health Behavior Change. Interactive storytelling : 14th International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling, ICIDS 2021, Tallinn, Estonia, December 7-10, 2021, Proceedings. Joint International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling (14th : 202... 2021. PMID: 36354310


  12. Megan Mott, Bradford Mott, Jonathan Rowe, Elizabeth Ozer, Alison Giovanelli, Mark Berna, Marianne Pugatch, Kathleen Tebb, Carlos Penilla, James Lester. “What’s Important to You, Max?”: The Influence of Goals on Engagement in an Interactive Narrative for Adolescent Health Behavior Change. 2021. PMID:


  13. Randall Spain, Carlos Penilla, Elizabeth Ozer, Robert Taylor, Cathy Ringstaff, James Lester. Leveraging Game-Based Learning Technologies to Introduce Adolescents to Health Science Careers During the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Journal of STEM Outreach 2021. PMID:


  14. Spain R, Penilla C, Ozer E, Taylor R, Ringstaff C, Lester J. Leveraging Game-Based Learning Technologies to Introduce Adolescents to Health Science Careers During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of STEM outreach 2021. PMID: 39741554


  15. Ozer EM, Rowe J, Tebb KP, Berna M, Penilla C, Giovanelli A, Jasik C, Lester JC. Fostering Engagement in Health Behavior Change: Iterative Development of an Interactive Narrative Environment to Enhance Adolescent Preventive Health Services. The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine 2020. PMID: 32718513


  16. Alison Giovanelli, Mark Berna, Jonathan Rowe, Kathleen Tebb, Carlos Penilla, James Lester, Elizabeth M. Ozer. 258. Adolescent Engagement in a Narrative-Centered Behavior Change System for Preventive Health: Differences by Sex and Alcohol Use. 2020. PMID:


  17. Elizabeth M. Ozer, Jonathan P. Rowe, Kathleen P. Tebb, Mark S. Berna, Carolyn Bradner Jasik, Carlos Penilla, Alison S. Giovanelli, Max Ozer-Staton, Averie Lee Kellenberger, James C. Lester. 116. Engaging Adolescents In A Self-Adaptive Personalized Behavior Change System For Adolescent Preventive Healthcare. 2019. PMID:


  18. Elizabeth M. Ozer, Carlos Penilla, Randall D. Spain, Bradford W. Mott, Donald Woodson, James C. Lester. 262. Health Quest: Promoting Adolescents’ Health Science Career Interests Through Technology-Rich Learning Experiences. 2019. PMID:


  19. Martinez SM, Tschann JM, McCulloch CE, Sites E, Butte NF, Gregorich SE, Penilla C, Flores E, Pasch LA, Greenspan LC, Deardorff J. Temporal associations between circadian sleep and activity patterns in Mexican American children. 2018. PMID: 30928122


  20. Martinez SM, Tschann JM, Butte NF, Gregorich SE, Penilla C, Flores E, Pasch LA, Greenspan LC, Deardorff J. Sleep duration in Mexican American children: Do mothers' and fathers' parenting and family practices play a role? 2018. PMID: 30397969


  21. Penilla C, Tschann JM, Sanchez-Vaznaugh EV, Flores E, Ozer EJ. Obstacles to preventing obesity in children aged 2 to 5 years: Latino mothers' and fathers' experiences and perceptions of their urban environments. 2017. PMID: 29096651


  22. Penilla C, Tschann JM, Deardorff J, Flores E, Pasch LA, Butte NF, Gregorich SE, Greenspan LC, Martinez SM, Ozer E. Fathers' feeding practices and children's weight status in Mexican American families. 2017. PMID: 28629931


  23. Martinez SM, Tschann JM, Butte NF, Gregorich SE, Penilla C, Flores E, Greenspan LC, Pasch LA, Deardorff J. Short Sleep Duration Is Associated With Eating More Carbohydrates and Less Dietary Fat in Mexican American Children. 2017. PMID: 28364488


  24. Jeanne M. Tschann, Suzanna M. Martinez, Carlos Penilla, Steven E. Gregorich, Lauri A. Pasch, Cynthia L. De Groat, Elena Flores, Julianna Deardorff, Louise C. Greenspan, Nancy F. Butte. Pediatric Behavioral Nutrition Factors. 2017. PMID:


  25. Pasch LA, Penilla C, Tschann JM, Martinez SM, Deardorff J, de Groat CL, Gregorich SE, Flores E, Butte NF, Greenspan LC. Preferred Child Body Size and Parental Underestimation of Child Weight in Mexican-American Families. 2016. PMID: 27016351


  26. Tschann JM, Martinez SM, Penilla C, Gregorich SE, Pasch LA, de Groat CL, Flores E, Deardorff J, Greenspan LC, Butte NF. Parental feeding practices and child weight status in Mexican American families: a longitudinal analysis. 2015. PMID: 25986057


  27. Martinez SM, Tschann JM, Greenspan LC, Deardorff J, Penilla C, Flores E, Pasch LA, Gregorich SE, Butte NF. Is it time for bed? Short sleep duration increases risk of obesity in Mexican American children. 2014. PMID: 25454984


  28. Butte NF, Gregorich SE, Tschann JM, Penilla C, Pasch LA, De Groat CL, Flores E, Deardorff J, Greenspan LC, Martinez SM. Longitudinal effects of parental, child and neighborhood factors on moderate-vigorous physical activity and sedentary time in Latino children. 2014. PMID: 25186810


  29. Martinez SM, Greenspan LC, Butte NF, Gregorich SE, De Groat CL, Deardorff J, Penilla C, Pasch LA, Flores E, Tschann JM. Mother-reported sleep, accelerometer-estimated sleep and weight status in Mexican American children: sleep duration is associated with increased adiposity and risk for overweight/obese status. 2013. PMID: 24329818


  30. Tschann JM, Gregorich SE, Penilla C, Pasch LA, de Groat CL, Flores E, Deardorff J, Greenspan LC, Butte NF. Parental feeding practices in Mexican American families: initial test of an expanded measure. 2013. PMID: 23324120


  31. Beck AL, Tschann J, Butte NF, Penilla C, Greenspan LC. Association of beverage consumption with obesity in Mexican American children. Public health nutrition 2013. PMID: 23308395


  32. Bränström R, Penilla C, Pérez-Stable EJ, Muñoz RF. Positive affect and mood management in successful smoking cessation. 2010. PMID: 20524885


  33. Muñoz RF, Barrera AZ, Delucchi K, Penilla C, Torres LD, Pérez-Stable EJ. International Spanish/English Internet smoking cessation trial yields 20% abstinence rates at 1 year. 2009. PMID: 19640833


  34. Torres LD, Barrera AZ, Delucchi K, Penilla C, Pérez-Stable EJ, Muñoz RF. Quitting smoking does not increase the risk of major depressive episodes among users of Internet smoking cessation interventions. 2009. PMID: 19627638


  35. Pasch LA, Deardorff J, Tschann JM, Flores E, Penilla C, Pantoja P. Acculturation, parent-adolescent conflict, and adolescent adjustment in Mexican American families. 2006. PMID: 16615254


  36. Muñoz RF, Lenert LL, Delucchi K, Stoddard J, Perez JE, Penilla C, Pérez-Stable EJ. Toward evidence-based Internet interventions: A Spanish/English Web site for international smoking cessation trials. 2006. PMID: 16497602


  37. Ricardo F. Muñoz, Carlos Penilla, Guido Urizar. Expanding depression prevention research with children of diverse cultures. 2002. PMID: