In 1979, Novello joined the Public Health Service. Her first assignment was as a project officer at the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism and Digestive Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). From 1976, she was a pediatric (doctor for children) at Georgetown University Hospital. During her years at NIH, Novello worked on a Masters of Physical Health degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. She finished her degree in 1982.