Katharine A. Rendle, PhD, MSW, MPH, is an Associate Director and Innovation Faculty member at the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I) as well as the Director of the Program in Implementation Science at PC3I. Dr. Rendle’s research program broadly aims to improve the quality, value, and delivery of care across the cancer continuum by integrating theoretical and methodological insights from anthropology, clinical and social epidemiology, implementation science, and data science. She aims to use her experience as an interdisciplinary behavioral scientist, with formal training in medical anthropology, epidemiology, implementation science, social work, and cancer prevention to redefine experimental health-services research and find innovation solutions in cancer care.

At Penn, Dr. Rendle is an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health and of Epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine, a full member of the Abramson Cancer Center, a Senior Fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, Associate Director of the Mixed-Methods Research Lab, and co-chair of the Primary Care Service Line Research Committee. Her work has spanned the cancer control continuum, with substantial focus on cervical, breast, and lung cancer care. Her studies also draw upon behavioral theories to understand and improve patient-centered care, including developing novel strategies to support high quality decision-making, patient-provider communication, and medication management among cancer patients.

Dr. Rendle completed her undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley, doctoral training at the University of Michigan, and postdoctoral training as a Cancer Prevention Fellow at the National Cancer Institute. Prior to her position at Penn, Dr. Rendle worked at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute, collaborating with clinicians, health system leaders, patients, and other researchers to advance healthcare delivery within the context of community-based care.