Elke's research and teaching interests primarily lie in the area of television. This includes high-end drama, an area where she has specific expertise on transnational television with past collaborative work with Jonathan Bignell and another with Trisha Dunleavy. She is also interested in soap opera and public service television. She also worked on a project on sustainability, local community and community-led television which is a collaboration between Edge Hill University, the University of Liverpool, Love Wavertree CIC and the British Academy. She is now taking this research forward to understand how the television industries tell stories about climate adaptation.