He participated in excavations at Deir Tasa, Tura, Tuna el-Gebel, Dahshur and Meir.
He initially desired to work in the legal profession and moved to France to attend the University of Bordeaux where he earned his doctorate in law.
In 1923, he enrolled at the University of Liverpool to study Egyptology under T. Eric Peet and John Garstang.
In 1925, he enrolled at the École pratique des hautes études in Paris where he was taught by Alexandre Moret, Gustave Lefebvre and Raymond Weill.
[2] After his retirement from the university following the 1952 Egyptian Revolution, Gabra became director of the Higher Institute of Coptic Studies (Ma'had al-dirasat al-qibtiyya).