Prior to embarking on her doctoral studies at Harvard University, Andrea had a broad exposure to global health policy and research. She previously worked at the Family and Community Health Unit at PAHO, where she was involved in the evaluation of an IMCI (Integrated Management for Childhood Illness) project in Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru. She also worked for one year for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, for the Institute for Nutrition, Metabolism, and Diabetes. Most recently, she completed a working paper on Development Aid Flows for Chronic Diseases, for the Center for Global Development. She also co-authored a background paper on the political ecoNomy of universal healthcare for the WHO., and a WEF/HSPH report on the global ecoNomic burden of NCDs.Her current research interests include studying factors that enable countries to effectively implement universal healthcare, as well as cost-effectiveness of chronic disease interventions. She is a Steering Committe member of the Young Professionals for Chronic Diseases, an advocacy group to help promote the issue of chronic diseases on the development agenda.