Dr. Wood received his medical degree from St Andrew's University and Dundee Medical School in Scotland. After clinical training in Internal Medicine he undertook fellowship training at Vanderbilt Medical School from 1976-78; in 1978 he joined the Vanderbilt Faculty and has remained there until now. He is a tenured Professor of both Medicine and Pharmacology and Attending Physician at Vanderbilt Medical School. He was Assistant Vice Chancellor for Clinical Research (1999-2004) and is now the Associate Dean, Vanderbilt Medical School. He has served on the Medical Board of Vanderbilt Hospital and has chaired and served on a number of subcommittees of the Board.

Dr. Wood is a member of many societies and has received numerous honors, including election to membership of The American Association of Physicians (AAP), The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), Honorary Fellow, American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society (AGOS) Fellowship of The American College of Physicians, Fellowship of The Royal College of Physicians of London, and also Fellowship of The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

Dr. Wood serves on a number of Editorial Boards; most notably The New England Journal of Medicine; he was the Drug Therapy Editor of The New England Journal of Medicine from 1985 to 2004, and is also on the Editorial Boards of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics and The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. He authored the Chapter in Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine on Adverse Drug Reactions from the 9th through the 15th edition.

He has served as a member of the Cardiovascular and Renal Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration and is currently a member of the FDA's Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee. Dr. Wood has also been both a member and has chaired NIH Study Sections and has served in a similar capacity for various philanthropic grant-giving bodies. He is a director of two pharmaceutical companies Antigenics (AGEN), and Symphony Neurodevelopment and has served as a consultant to pharmaceutical companies, investors, venture capital funds and major academic institutions, including serving on the external committee appointed by the President of Johns Hopkins to investigate the death of a volunteer in a research study. He has provided Congressional testimony and directly interacted with and advised senior White House officials, legislators and the Secretary of Health on matters related to public health. He is a frequent commentator in the national press on issues related to medicine and pharmaceuticals.

His research interests have been focused on understanding the mechanisms for interindividual variability in drug response, with a particular focus on the molecular genetics of adrenergic receptors, ethnic differences in drug response, vascular response, and the genetics of drug metabolism. His research has been continuously funded by NIH and has resulted in over 250 articles, reviews and editorials.

Time magazine article on Dr Wood http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/from_search/
0,10987,1101020325-218335,00.html

Vanderbilt Reporter article on Dr Wood http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?Show=y&ShowIssue=2002-05-31