Andrea has a background in biochemistry and has been involved in several different areas of medical research. Her PhD was gained in 1991 from Monash University in the area of connective tissue biochemistry and involved the use of cell biology and protein chemistry to explore the role of growth factors in the metabolism of artiuclar cartilage. She has also worked in eye research, looking at mechanisms of cataract development, and on the molecular biology of the mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors. In this Department, Andrea has primarily been involved in the waiting list clinical prioritisation project, which seeks to determine factors important for indicating patient urgency for elective surgery and to look at ways of incorporating these into scoring tools suitable for clinical use.