She is currently a full professor at the University of Canterbury and is a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi.
[1] After a 1995 PhD at titled 'The phonological, semantic and syntactic skills of children with specific reading disability' at the University of Queensland, she moved to the University of Canterbury, rising to full professor.
[1] Much of Gillon's research relates to phonological awareness intervention in childhood reading disorders.
Notable doctoral students of Gillon include Catherine Moran.
[2] In March 2021, Gillon was made a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, recognising that her research "has resulted in transformation of both speech-language therapy and class teaching practices throughout the world... and is positively enhancing the well-being of thousands of children and their whānau in Aotearoa New Zealand.