She took a first degree in geography at Durham University and subsequently has had a career in public health.

The focus of her research was into translating theories of public health and records of unintentional injury to children into practical measures to reduce these risks, with road traffic injuries, drowning, poisoning, burns and falls being the most important causes.

These injuries can take place anywhere, but there are specific concerns and safety measures possible for road traffic, children's centres, when cycling or playing near water and in the home.

[5] Following her retirement around 2013, Towner has written a book about a nineteenth-century botanical artist, Margaret Rebecca Dickinson.

[6] She and her husband John are keen member of the Berwickshire Naturalists Club and they have published their book on "Apples and Pears: A History of Orchards in the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland".