Scott Chimileski, Associate Blogger
My first biology lab was the neighborhood pond. I've always had the urge to explore wild places and a drive to collect and observe some of that wilderness. Growing up, I made aquariums, stocked with everything from fish to snapping turtles. Later on I realized that I was only beginning to explore the biodiversity all around me.
At the White Cliffs of Dover, UK. ©Scott Chimilieski
After working in several biology labs since age 17, I joined a microbiology lab at end of my undergraduate studies at the University of Connecticut and continued there for my PhD. It was then, while I worked on gene transfer and biofilm formation in halophilic archaea, when my fascination with the "microbial world" really intensified. I still focus on biofilms and social or multicellular phenomena in microbes, and though I mostly work with bacteria now, I still have a special admiration for archaea.
Beyond my research area, I am interested in all microbial organisms and their connections to the biosphere at-large. The goal of my writing and photography is to highlight the beauty and biology of microbes far and wide. I strongly support the mission of this blog and I am honored to join Elio, Roberto and the rest of the team at STC.
I'm a postdoctoral fellow in Roberto Kolter's laboratory at Harvard Medical School. Along with Roberto, I authored the book Life at the Edge of Sight and I'm guest curator of the Microbial Life exhibition at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Own photography can be found on my website, microbephotography.com, and you can find me on twitter @socialmicrobes.
