Dr Chontel Gibson is a Kamilaroi woman and her family are from the Mungindi, Collarenebri and Walget areas. Chontel recently commenced working in the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Australia (UWA). Her research focuses on working with communities, especially older Aboriginal people, to develop culturally responsive practices in service provision, teaching and policy. 

Chontel was awared her PhD in 2018 and has since recieved $3.8 million in research grants Her research work involves working with communities and services, using Aboriginal Participatory Action Research.  Chontel is currently a Research Fellow with the Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing (TIMHWB) project, which is an innovative Aboriginal-led project. This project aims to improve the cultural responsiveness and cultural safety in social and emotional wellbeing services. Chontel's role in TIMHWB is to undertake research and scholarly activities to embed Indigenous knowledges in psychology courses and to embed the practical application of Indigenous Knowledges in the health disciplines. Chontel is also a chief investigator on the Good Spirit Good Life Centre for Excellence (CRE) in Indigenous wellbeing and ageing.

Chontel was a co-founder and the inaugural deputy chairperson for Indigenous Allied Health Australia. She was also a co-founder and co-chair of the National Aborginal and Torres Strait Islander Occupational Therapy Network. Chontel has led scholarly projects with other health professionals, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal to illustrate how to use Indigenous knowledges and apply Indigenous governance in everyday practice. Chontel has also served as a board director on Occupational Therapy Australia and is an accreditation assessor for Occupational Therapy Council. Chontel co-wrote a project proposal, which led to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Occupational Therapy Curriculum project. This project brought together Aboriginal and non-Indigenous stakeholders to make recommendations relating to Indigenous governance and Indigenous curricula in occupational therapy.