Wilkinson holds a
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in facial anthropology from the
University of Manchester (2000), and from 2000 to 2005 led the Unit of Art and Medicine at the university. Between 2005 and 2014 she taught at the University of Dundee in the award-winning Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, where from 2011 she was Professor of Craniofacial Identification and Head of Human Identification. She first became known to television audiences as a result of her regular appearances on the BBC series
Meet the Ancestors, and also appeared on
History Cold Case while working at the
University of Dundee (2005 – 2014).
Facial reconstruction In 2013, Wilkinson created a facial reconstruction of King
Richard III, whose remains had been uncovered in a car park and positively identified using DNA. From his skeletal remains, it was known that his broken nose had "healed asymmetrically, giving him a characteristic nose and rugged facial appearance". In 2016, Wilkinson helped create facial reconstructions of
Robert the Bruce, using a skull believed to have belonged to the Scottish king. Two versions were created, one standard one and another based on the belief that he had suffered from
leprosy. She is the author of several works on the subject of facial identification and depiction. ==Awards==