Stuart Houston received his early education in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, his M.D. from the University of Manitoba, his fellowship in diagnostic radiology from the Royal College, and a D.Litt from the University of Saskatchewan. He was editor of the Journal of the Canadian Association of Radiologists, head of the Department of Medical Imaging at the University of Saskatchewan, a member of council of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, president of the Canadian Society for the History of Medicine and vice president of the American Ornithologists' Union.