Scott Chimileski is a microbiologist and imaging specialist at the Kolter Lab at Harvard Medical School. He is the photographer behind Life at the Edge of Sight: A Photographic Exploration of the Microbial World which he co-authored with Roberto Kolter. He is also the curator of the exhibition Microbial Life: A Universe at the Edge of Sight, currently on display at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

Chimileski was the winner of FASEB’s BioArt competition in 2016 and 2017, as well as the Passion in Science Award from New England Biolabs. His images have been published by WIRED, TIME, The Atlantic, The Scientist, NPR, Natural History Magazine, Scientific American, Smithsonian Magazine, Fast Company, The Biologist, The Verge, TED Talks, and CBS, among others.

---

Key Publications:

Chimileski S, Papke R T. “Getting a hold on archaeal type IV pili: an expanding repertoire of cellular appendages implicates complex regulation and diverse functions.” Front Microbiol. 6:362, 2015 May 5. Accessed 2018 June 4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25999922 . DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.0036

Ouellette M, Jackson L, Chimileski S, Papke R T. “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, 2015 Apr 8. Accessed 2018 June 4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25904898. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00251

Chimileski S, Franklin M J, Papke R T. “Biofilms formed by the archaeon Haloferax volcanii exhibit cellular differentiation and social motility, and facilitate horizontal gene transfer.” BMC Biol. 12:65, 2014 Aug 14. Accessed 2018 June 4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25124934. DOI: 10.1186/s12915-014-0065-5.

Zerulla K, Chimileski S, Näther D, Gophna U, Papke R T, Soppa J. “DNA as a phosphate storage polymer and the alternative advantages of polyploidy for growth or survival.” PLoS One. 9(4):e94819, 2014 Apr 14. Accessed 2018 June 4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24733558. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094819

Chimileski S, Dolas K, Naor A, Gophna U, Papke R T. “Extracellular DNA metabolism in Haloferax volcanii.” Front Microbiol. 5:57, 2014 Feb 20. Web 2014. Accessed 2018 June 4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24600440. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2014.00057.