Biography of David Saint-Jacques

David Saint-Jacques earns a Bachelor of Engineering in Engineering Physics from Polytechnique Montréal.

Saint-Jacques begins his career as a biomedical engineer, contributing to the design of radiological equipment at Hôpital Lariboisière in Paris, France.

He earns his Ph.D. in astrophysics from Cambridge University, developing adaptive optics and interferometry systems for the Cambridge Optical Aperture Synthesis Telescope and the William Hershel Telescope in the Canary Islands.

He completes postdoctoral research in Tokyo at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, working on the Mitaka infrared interferometer array and the adaptive optics system for the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii.

He joins the Astrophysics group at the Université de Montréal.

He earns his M.D. from Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada. During summers he does volunteer work with the Maya people of Guatemala and in Palestinian refugee camps.

Saint-Jacques completes his family medicine residency at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, with training focused on first-line, isolated medical practice.

He works as a medical doctor and co-chief of Medicine at Inuulitsivik Health Centre in Puvirnituq, Nunavik, an Inuit community on Hudson Bay.

He is an Adjunct Professor of Clinical Medicine at McGill University, a role he holds to this day.

He is one of two recruits selected by the CSA through the third Canadian Astronaut Recruitment Campaign. He joins NASA's 20th astronaut class in Houston, Texas.

David Saint-Jacques graduates from Astronaut Candidate training, encompassing International Space Station (ISS) systems, spacewalking, robotics, flight training, geology, survival skills, and Russian language.

He continuously trains and participates in expeditionary skills training including NEEMO 15 and CAVES 2012 analogue missions, focusing on geology, glaciology, and speleology.

He supports ISS operations in a variety of roles, including as Capcom (capsule communicator), the voice from the ground. His responsibilities include Lead Capcom (2012–2013), robotics procedure review including free-flyer capture, and planning and practising spacewalks.

Saint-Jacques routinely shares his passion for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) with young Canadians.

He is assigned to Expedition 58/59, and trains extensively across Canada, Russia, the United States, Europe, and Japan. He hones his skills and knowledge on the ISS, including emergency procedures and survival training, and masters a variety of mission-specific tasks. He trains in Star City, Moscow, as the Soyuz spacecraft co-pilot. Saint-Jacques also trains for the Canadian and international health science experiments that he will support during his mission.

David Saint-Jacques embarks on a 204-day mission to the International Space Station, the longest Canadian space mission to date. During his mission, he conducts Canadian and international science experiments and technology demonstrations and supports critical operations and maintenance activities. He becomes the fourth CSA astronaut to conduct a spacewalk and the first CSA astronaut to use Canadarm2 to catch a visiting spacecraft.

After his mission aboard the ISS, Saint-Jacques returns to Houston to represent the CSA at NASA.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, he recertifies as a physician, and works at the McGill University Health Centre hospital in Montreal.

At the CSA, he collaborates on the design of Canadarm3, Canada's contribution to Gateway. He also contributes to Health Beyond, a CSA initiative that aims to support innovative and sustainable solutions that could address the healthcare challenges faced by astronauts in deep space and by people living in remote communities.

He serves as Deputy Director, Lunar Exploration Program at the Canadian Space Agency, helping define Canada's contribution to the Artemis program.