SCOTT CHIMILESKI
Microbial Science Photography
Affiliations
> Research Scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), current
> Guest Curator of Microbial Life, Harvard Museum of Natural History, 2018-2022
> Small Things Considered, Associate Blogger, 2018-2019
> Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, 2015-2019
> Harvard Microbial Science Initiative, 2015-2020
Training
> Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Microbiology, Kolter Lab
> University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
PhD, Genetics and Genomics, May 2015
BA, Biological Sciences, 2008
Minors: English, Molecular and Cell Biology
> University of Montana, Bozeman, MT
Center for Biofilm Engineering, Visiting Researcher, 2012
Publications
> Life at the Edge of Sight: A Photographic Exploration of the Microbial World, Harvard University Press, 2017
Author profiles:Google Scholar/ Amazon Author Page /PubMed / ResearchGate / Frontiers
Research Articles and Book Chapters
> Chimileski S, Franklin MJ, Papke RT (2014) Biofilms formed by the archaeon Haloferax volcanii exhibit social motility and cellular differentiation, and facilitate horizontal gene transfer. BMC Biology 12:65
> Chimileski S, Dolas K, Naor A, Gophna U, Papke RT (2014) Extracellular DNA metabolism in Haloferax volcanii. Front. Microbiol. 5:57
> Zerulla K, Chimileski S, Näther D, Gophna U, Papke RT, Soppa J (2014) DNA as a phosphate storage polymer and the alternative advantages of polyploidy for growth or survival. PLoS ONE 9(4)
> Ouellette M, Jackson L, Chimileski S, Papke RT (2015) Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of Haloferax volcanii H26 and identification of DNA methyltransferase related PD-(D/E)XK nuclease family protein HVO_A0006. Front. Microbiol. 6:251
> Chimileski S, Papke RT (2015) Getting a hold on archaeal type IV pili: an expanding repertoire of cellular appendages implicates complex regulation and diverse functions. Front. Microbiol. 6:362
> Papke RT, Chimileski S (2012) Gene transfer mechanisms, population genetics and the evolution of haloarchaea, in Advances in Understanding the Biology of Halophilic Microorganisms. Vreeland R (ed.) Springer
Science communication
> TED-ED animation - Microbial Jungles, 2016
Articles written for blogs and popular press
> Chimileski, S, Kolter R. "Microbes Gave us Life," STAT, December 2017
Articles published at ASM.org
> Mystery of the Spring-Smelling Microbes, May 2016
> Glimpse of an Alien World, in Yellowstone National Park, July 2016
> Secrets in the Sandstone of Capitol Reef National Park, July 2016
> Hey Bear! Can I Sample Your Microbiota? Aug 2016
> Age of the Microzoo, co-written with Julie Wolf, Aug 2016
> No Democracy for Tardigrades, November 2016
> The Natural History of Cheese Mites, Dec 2016
> Microscopy Meets Photography, 200 Years Later, March 2017
> Haunts of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, April 2017
> Ancient Imaginations of the Microbial World, May 2017
> The Mysterious Landscape, July 2017
> Microbial Reefs of New York, Sept 2017
> Bacterial Dyes in Fashion, Nov 2017
> Microbial Multitudes: A Tribute to Stephen Jay Gould's Essay on the Humongous Fungus, Dec 2017
Small Things Considered
> Bringing the Microbial World into our Natural History Museums, 2015
> The Microbial Life Exhibition at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, August 2018
> How to Build a Giant Winogradsky column, August 2018
> Nature blog articles [7]
Top ten Naturejobs blog, November 2014
> Personal microbiology blog (legacy website): Animalcule
Teaching
> Invisible Life: Exploring the World through Microscopes
Program at the Harvard Museum of Natural History
> Content Creator, Cooking with Microbes
HarvardX course, 2017-2018
> Instructor, MSI Microscopy Workshop
Harvard University, Microbial Sciences Initiative, 2016, 2017, 2018
> Fundamentals of Microbiology
Univ. Connecticut, 2011-2015
> Microbe Hunting: Crowdsourcing Antibiotic Discovery
Univ. Connecticut, Yale Small World Initiative, 2014
Media coverage
Link to list of articles written about my work or featuring my images.
Cover art & select image credits
> The Scientist, Image of the Day, Tardigrades!, 2/2018
> Book cover: Chemical Ecology of Insects, Jun Tabata (ed.), CRC Press, 2017
> Journal of Bacteriology, Fern leaf press, vol. 199, Issue 4, 2017
> Genome Biology and Evolution, Infected squash stem, vol. 9, Issue 6, 2017
> Journal of Bacteriology, Microbial mats at Octopus Spring, vol. 199, Issue 2, 2017
> The Scientist, Image of the Day, Biofilm Up Close, 12/2016
> Journal of Bacteriology, Slime mold eats bacteria, Aug 2016, vol. 198, Issue 16
> Journal of Bacteriology, Haloarchaea in a salt crystal, Oct 2015, vol. 197, issue 20
> Science Magazine, AAAS, Photo competition winner, Dec 2014
> Journal of Bacteriology, The "volcano" colony, Dec 2014, vol. 196, issue 24
> Book Cover: Halophiles: Genetics and Genomes, Caister Academic Press, 2014
Awards & Fellowships
> 2019 FASEB BioArt Contest Winner
> 2017 FASEB BioArt Contest Winner
> 2016 Passion in Science Award, New England Biolabs
Arts and Creativity - See my talk at NEB: Microbes are Beautiful
> 2016 FASEB BioArt Contest Winner
> 2016 Nikon Small World Competition, 4th place (honorable mention)
A time-lapse video of cheese mites on a rind of cheddar
> Poster Prize, The New Microbiology, August 2016
"Outstanding contribution" at EMBO/FEBES course, Spetses, Greece
> Antonio & Marjorie Romano Fellowship in Microbiology
Univ. Connecticut, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, 2014
> Naturejobs writing competition Award
Journalist for the day at Naturejobs expo, Boston, MA, May 2014