Sorrel graduated from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), London. She then spent three years in private practice where she gained her Certificate in Small Animal Orthopaedics. She then returned to the RVC where she undertook a three-year residency in Small Animal Orthopaedics.

She gained her RCVS diploma in Small Animal Orthopaedics in 1997 and then spent six months as a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania before returning to take up a post as University Surgeon at Cambridge University Veterinary School. She gained her ECVS diploma in Small Animal Surgery in 1999 and became a European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery. She was appointed Chair in Small Animal Orthopaedic Surgery in 2013 at the University of Bristol.

She is interested in all aspects of small animal orthopaedic surgery with particular interests in fracture repair, cruciate disease and hip replacement. She also has a particular interest in feline orthopaedics and she has published widely in this field and is frequently invited to lecture on feline orthopaedics both in this country and abroad. She has co-edited a textbook on Feline Orthopaedic Surgery and Musculoskeletal Disease and a partner textbook on Feline Soft Tissue & General Surgery.

Sorrel is heavily involved in undergraduate and post graduate veterinary surgery teaching. Clinical research interests include feline patella fractures and feline cruciate disease.  In September 2019 Sorrel became a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for her outstanding contribution to the veterinary profession.