An accomplished bacteriologist, Miss Lush was a close collaborator of Sir Macfarlane Burnet, working with him from 1934-39 researching diseases including influenza, herpes infections and myxomatosis.

In 1939 she left to take up a position at the National Institute for Medical Research in London, where she studied the influenza virus before embarking on research into immunisation against typhus.
Miss Lush returned to the institute in 1942, at a time when scrub typhus was a significant health problem among Australian servicemen. She resumed her collaboration with Sir Macfarlane Burnet, searching for a vaccine.
In April 1943, she accidentally pricked her finger with a needle containing scrub typhus, and died four weeks later.
In a tribute to Miss Lush, Sir Macfarlane Burnet wrote,