Dorene F. Balmer, PhD
Professor and Distinguished Endowed Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Dates of Visit: October 21 – 23, 2025
Purpose of Visit
During this visit to CHES, Dr. Balmer will be meeting with individual members of the CHES community to discuss their research ideas, offer advice, and explore areas of joint interest. Dr. Balmer is also the Gordon Page Invited Lecturer at the 2025 CHES Celebration of Scholarship on October 22, 2025.
Biography
Dr. Dorene F. Balmer is Professor and Distinguished Endowed Chair in the Department of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), and Co-director of Research on Pediatric Education at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
Dr. Balmer began her career in pediatric nutrition at CHOP, where she became captivated by the clinical learning environment. This fascination led her to pursue a PhD in Public Health/Health Education and launch a new professional chapter in medical education at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. She returned to CHOP and UPenn in 2015, where she currently supports scholarly projects across the U.S. and Southeast Asia, supervises PhD candidates, and leads educational programs in qualitative research and educational scholarship.
Her independent research focuses on identity work and career construction in medical education, where she has pioneered longitudinal qualitative studies that follow learners through time. A widely published author, associate editor, and editorial board member for leading health professions education journals, Dr. Balmer is most proud of her forthcoming narrative nonfiction book, which traces the lives of aspiring physicians from their first day of medical school into clinical practice (expected release: January 2026).