Lisel joined UCSF's Center for the Health Professions in early 2010 as a senior research analyst for the Innovative Workforce Models in Health Care study. This study focuses on health care organizations that have expanded the roles of medical assistants to improve the quality of care while providing career advancement to these frontline health workers.

Prior to joining the Center, she worked with San Francisco State University’s Public Research Institute, where she coordinated both qualitative and quantitative applied social science research projects, including a study of minority doctors in solo and small group practice for the CMAF, and a number of local NIH-funded program evaluations of initiatives aimed at increasing the number of minority biomedical and behavioral scientists. She has also worked as a research consultant with the California Community Colleges investigating promising practices in training, recruitment, and retention of students and workers in allied health career tracks. Her academic degrees include an MPA from San Francisco State University and an undergraduate degree from UC Santa Cruz.