Dr. Wilkinson was born and raised in Vancouver, B.C. After completing his honours degree in physiology at the University of British Columbia he undertook postgraduate studies and earned both Masters and Doctorate degrees. Dr. Wilkinson’s thesis work investigated the neuro-endocrine regulation of the febrile process. His graduate record was highlighted by earning the nationally recognized Medical Research Council of Canada Studentship award. His postgraduate training was conducted at the University of Calgary where he was a Fellow of the Medical Research Council of Canada and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. During this period he developed research programs in the field of neuro-immunology in combination with his post doctoral training in neurophysiology.

In 1993 Dr. Wilkinson received the prestigious Medical Research Council of Canada Centennial Fellowship to conduct research studies into the neuro-immunology of calcium channels. At the conclusion of this Fellowship he was offered a position in the Movement Disorders Surgical Program at Foothills Hospital in Calgary in 1997. In this role he was instrumental in developing the neurophysiological expertise for mapping of basal ganglia structures during surgeries for Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. In 1998 he extended his expertise to provide the intraoperative neuromonitoring service, at Foothills hospital, for a variety of surgical procedures involving neurological risk to the surgical patient.

In 2002 Dr. Wilkinson joined the Section of Neurosurgery at the Health Sciences Centre to supervise the intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring program for the Section of Neurosurgery. He continues to develop new techniques to limit surgical morbidity to the nervous system and is involved in several research initiatives including studies in facial nerve disease, spinal cord motor function and motor function of the basal ganglia.

Nationally, Dr. Wilkinson provides leadership in the field of intraoperative neurophysiology and is currently the President of the Canadian Association of Neurophysiological Monitoring (CANM). He also serves on the Education Committee for CANM and has helped to establish the first dedicated education program in intraoperative neurophysiology in Canada, in association with the Michener Institute in Toronto.