Overview

Gender

male

Investor Type

Angel

Smith Johnston is Medical Officer and Flight Surgeon at NASA.




Smith Johnston, from Woodstock, Georgia, received a Bachelor of Science in biology in 1976 and a Doctor of Medicine in 1981 from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1984 to 1990, Dr. Johnston completed residencies in Internal and Aerospace Medicine from Wright State University, as well as a Master’s of Science in Aerospace and Preventive Medicine.


Dr. Johnston is a member of the clinical faculty at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Department of Preventive, Occupational and Environmental Medicine in Galveston, Texas. He has spent most of his career as a medical officer and flight surgeon for NASA Medical Operations Branch at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. Over the past 25 years, he has supported the medical care of the active Astronaut Corps, their families, and the retired astronauts. He has been the lead physician for the International Space Station (ISS) Emergency Medical System and Crew Return Vehicle development, and has supported two Expedition ISS missions and over 25 shuttle missions. Over the last five years, he has served as the medical director of NASA-JSC Aerospace and Occupational Medicine Clinics, and is presently the lead of NASA’s Astronaut Medical Selection and Retention Standards, and the Fatigue Management and Human Health, Performance, and Longevity Programs. He was recently appointed the Chief Medical Officer and Lead Flight Surgeon for Axiom Space, Inc. in Houston, Texas.


Dr. Johnston is board certified in aerospace medicine from the American Board of Preventive Medicine, and a fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association. Dr. Johnston’s expertise centers on taking the innovations discovered from the US, International, and Commercial Space Programs to benefit not only the lives of the astronauts and cosmonauts, but also his earth-bound patients. He has been featured in media such as NOVA, Discovery Channel, Scientific America, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Houston Chronicle, Consumer Reports, and USA Today.