Yvette did a PhD in public health ethics at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics, National University of Singapore and a BSc in Biochemistry (Pharmacology) at the University of Surrey, UK. As part of her studies, she was also based at the University of Turku (Finland), Hastings Center (New York), University of Tübingen (Germany), Brocher Foundation (Switzerland), and WHO Regional Office for Europe (Denmark). After her PhD she worked as a Public Health Analyst at Newcastle City Council, UK, and as a freelance consultant for the WHO Regional Office for Europe's tobacco control programme.