Janet Elizabeth Macgregor (née McPherson; 12 January 1920 – 8 October 2005) was a Scottish physician and cytologist who pioneered the first successful screening trial programme for cervical cancer in the United Kingdom.
Janet Elizabeth McPherson was born at Lynedoch Place, Glasgow on 12 January 1920[2] to Jean (née Craig) (1886–1929) and Andrew MacPherson (1888–1946), a company secretary.
She had two younger sisters, Agnes Jean and Margaret, and an elder brother, Andrew MacPherson, a flying officer for the RAF who was awarded the first DFC of the Second World War in 1939.
In 1960, Macgregor became a research assistant in Sir Dugald Baird's department of midwifery and gynaecology at the university and worked with his team to establishing a trial screening programme for cervical cancer.
Macgregor always suspected that cervical cancer was caused by and infection, and during her lifetime human papillomavirus was found to be the agent.