She studied Chemistry and Archaeology at Durham University, graduating in 2005 with a BSc.[3] In 2006, she completed a MSc in Archaeological Science at the University of Oxford.[4]
She joined the Australian National University after completing her DPhil, working on pre-treatment of samples for radiocarbon dating. In 2014, Wood was awarded a DECRA fellowship to investigate tooth enameldiagenesis and its impact on radiocarbon dating.[8][9]
Her early work focused on the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic of Iberia. This included refining radiocarbon dating techniques for bone and charcoal. The utilisation of the ultrafiltration method showed that Neanderthals were not contemporary to anatomically modern humans in southern Iberia.[10][11] More recent work has used radiocarbon dating to assess the colonization of Australia, as at Riwi, Kimberley.[12]
Wood, R 2015. From revolution to convention: the past, present and future of radiocarbon dating. Journal of Archaeological Science 56: 61-72.
Wood, R, De Quiros, F, MaÃllo-Fernandez, J et al. 2016. El Castillo (Cantabria, northern Iberia) and the Transitional Aurignacian: Using radiocarbon dating to assess site taphonomy. Quaternary International, pp. 1–15.
Wood, R, Jacobs, Z, Vannieuwenhuyse, D et al. 2016. Towards an accurate and precise chronology for the colonization of Australia: The example of Riwi, Kimberley, Western Australia. PLOS ONE 11, no. 9, pp. 25pp.
^The contribution of new radiocarbon dating pre-treatment techniques to understanding the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Iberia. DPhil (University of Oxford). 2011.