She began studying Classical archaeology, ancient history, and prehistory at the University of Cologne in 1995.

She then worked at the German Archaeological Institute at Rome, first as a general consultant, then as head of the photo library.

In 2011 she published "Militär in Rom" which describes the military forces stationed within Imperial Rome.

From the reign of Augustus there were 10,000–40,000 soldiers barracked in Rome and her book records their history.

[2] In May 2014, Busch became the Director of Collections, Library, Archives and IT, as well as Head of Roman Archaeology, at the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz.