Alex Paterson (also known as Dr Alex Paterson, born Duncan Alexander Robert Paterson on 15 October 1959 near Battersea in London) is an English musician and co-founder of ambient house group The Orb, in which he has worked since its inception.

Paterson attended Kingham Hill School in Oxfordshire between 1970 and 1979, at the same time as Killing Joke producer Martin "Youth" Glover. Paterson later worked in the 1980s as a roadie for Killing Joke, before working in the A&R department of EG Records.