Jane E. Paterson was born in 1915, and educated at Laurel Bank School, University of Glasgow, Harvard University School of Public Health and Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work. In 1947 she was appointed Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Public Health at Edinburgh University, where she taught a variety of courses for undergraduates and postgraduates. During the course of her career she performed a number of services to Central Government, professional institutions, and other bodies, including being a member of the Board of Management of the Royal Victoria and Associated Hospitals from 1956-68. Her complete resume is to be found in GD1/90/5.