[2][3] Leaving school without completing Year 12, Toombs re-entered formal education through a bridging program for Aboriginal people at the University of Southern Queensland.
After five years as a teacher, she returned to run the program and developed an interest in improving Aboriginal student retention rates.
[10] In 2011, she received a Churchill Fellowship to study the role resilience plays in retention rates of Indigenous students in Canadian universities.
[13][14] In 2014, Toombs received funding under an NHMRC Mental Health Targeted Call for Research to develop a training program and smartphone app to prevent Indigenous youth suicide.
[6] Toombs has also contributed to the development of co-design approaches to improve the respiratory health of Indigenous peoples through culturally safe care and the equitable distribution and prioritisation of resources.