Renate Kahlke (she/her), PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine & Scientist,
McMaster Health Education Research,
Innovation and Theory Centre, McMaster University
Dates of Visit: September 14 – 16, 2026
Biography
Dr. Renate Kahlke is a researcher, qualitative methodologist, theorist, and educator. After working in curriculum design and faculty development for interprofessional education and simulation, she earned a PhD in Education at the University of Alberta (2016) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Health Education Scholarship at the University of British Columbia (2018). She is now Assistant Professor in the Division of Education & Innovation, Department of Medicine, and Scientist in the McMaster Health Education Research, Innovation and Theory Centre at McMaster.
Dr. Kahlke’s a program of research uses sociocultural theory and a range of qualitative and qualitatively oriented mixed methods approaches to explore how social and systemic pressures influence health professionals’ and trainees’ participation in education and health systems. For instance, her previous work explored how trainees navigate the uncomfortable and disruptive work of health advocacy, and how racialized trainees make decisions when they encounter interpersonal or systemic racism. Her most recent work examines the impact of intersectional discrimination on the well-being and success of medical learners who identify as fat or overweight.
Dr. Kahlke is also an influential qualitative methodologist, with many highly cited publications and international presentations offering practical guidance on how to design qualitative research with rigour, reflexivity, and creativity. Recently, her methodological work has focused on advancing approaches to qualitative research interviews, qualitatively-oriented mixed methods, and qualitatively-oriented knowledge synthesis. These contributions aim to support researchers in doing qualitative work that is thoughtful, impactful, and, if at all possible, fun.
Purpose of Visit
During her visit to CHES, Dr. Kahlke will be meeting with individual members of the CHES community to discuss their research ideas, offer advice, and explore areas of joint interest. Dr. Kahlke will also be presenting at the CHES Cutting Edge Speaker Series on September 15, 2026.