Prof Visvader said that initially little was known about how breast tissue develops and which molecular regulators were key to directing normal development.

“I think it represented a unique opportunity to try and apply the lessons and strategies that I had learned in researching blood cells and leukaemia to breast cancer,” said Prof Visvader.

In 1998 she returned to WEHI from the US alongside collaborator and husband Professor Geoff Lindeman to lead the breast cancer research program at WEHI.

After more than five years, their work resulted in one of the field’s most significant discoveries. They were able to identify and isolate the breast stem cells capable of giving rise to the entire mammary gland.

For Prof Visvader, this was truly a eureka moment.

“It meant that we had this framework to understand the cell that lies at the apex and how it gives rise to cells in a regulated fashion to yield the entire ductal system that constitutes breast tissue,” she said.

It gave way to answering questions about how breasts normally develop and the risk of breast cancer.

“We were then able to ask, what are the earliest cellular changes that occur in women that are at high risk of developing breast cancer, such as those that carry a faulty BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene,” said Prof Visvader.

Women carrying the BRCA1 mutation face up to a 70% chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime and up to a 40% risk of ovarian cancer.

In 2009, Professor Visvader’s team identified progenitor or ‘daughter’ cells as the key drivers in these mutation carriers.

“This represented a paradigm shift because it had long been thought that the basal stem cell was the cellular origin of cancers arising in these women. This was important because we could then focus on these cells,” said Prof Visvader.

They found that an existing drug, usually used to treat osteoporosis, could target these daughter cells.

A clinical trial testing this treatment is currently underway, which Prof Visvader hopes will pave the way for more preventative interventions for women at high risk of breast cancer.

“In the case of BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers, there are very few options available for prevention aside from bilateral mastectomy,” she said.

“It is very important to develop a targeted therapy that would buy these women time with the hope of preventing the formation of breast cancers.”

Over the past two decades Prof Visvader has been a mentor to the next generation of young scientists, seen many go on to have successful careers.

Prof Visvader said she was incredibly honoured to join an elite group of women who have been past recipients of the Ruby Payne-Scott Medal.

“I hope it serves as an inspiration for young, early career researchers to continue in science, to strive for the best and not to give up.”