Brothers and Newtown High School graduates Brock and Dr Scott Chimileski are now living together in Boston, and both found similar interests in science when studying separately at the University of Connecticut, Storrs.Amassed AccomplishmentsLife at the Edge of Sight, A Photographic Exploration of the Microbial World. The pair also recently opened a museum exhibition at the Harvard Museum of Natural History called "World in a Drop." Dr Chimileski said the collaboration is continuing with an effort to create a microbe exhibition that will open in February. Dr Chimileski and Dr Kolter are also set to share a lecture on "Wonders of the Microbial World" at the museum on October 19.ASM.org, and his photography has been published in The Atlantic, The Scientist, NPR, Scientific American, Smithsonian Magazine, and more.scottchimileskiphotography.comscottchimileskiphotography.com

Dr Chimileski, a 2002 NHS graduate, went to UConn and earned his doctorate degree in genetics and genomics in 2015. Mr Chimileski graduated from NHS in 2013 and graduated magna cum laude from UConn with a double major in physiology and neurobiology, and molecular and cell biology this year.

Their studies at UConn overlapped, so Dr Chimileski said living together now works out as it did then.

"We are similar in the sense that we both work in the biomedical field, but Brock will become a physician who interacts directly to help people while I am a biologist who likes to think generally about life in a more basic and broad sense," Dr Chimileski said.

He said it is a perfect combination.

Reflecting on what made him choose his field of study, Dr Chimileski said he was a biologist "before I knew what it meant to be a biologist."

"I have always loved animals and nature," said Dr Chimileski in an e-mail. "There was a pond nearby my parents' house in Newtown where I would catch fish, frogs, and all those sorts of creatures from a young age. So I naturally gravitated towards science and biology. I never really considered doing anything else."

Mr Chimileski said his interest in science was first sparked by his brother and their two other siblings, Lindsay and Andrew, who helped inspire his interests in medicine and the field of health and fitness.

"This collectively led to a passion for human physiology and how that dictates health," Mr Chimileski said in an e-mail. "In college, I built on this passion through my coursework and extracurricular experiences in a research lab, physician shadowing, volunteering at a health care clinic, and interning as a clinical research assistant at a large hospital."

While Dr Chimileski said his younger brother may think he was an inspiration, he said Mr Chimileski inspires him too.

"In biology you call something like that a positive feedback loop, so that's how I think of it... I inspired him but then he inspires me back because he is so driven and focused and is just an all-around good person," said Dr Chimileski.

Their parents, Barbara Freuler Chimileski and Ken Chimileski, along with their grandmother Ines "Schatzi" Freuler were also influences on Dr Chimileski. The family would go on camping trips, and Dr Chimileski said experiencing nature nurtured his thoughts on life and the planet.

"My dad is also a great writer and so I always appreciated writing as something important and worth getting better at, thanks to him. My mom and her mom, my grandmother Schatzi, were really the ones who encouraged my artistic side," Dr Chimileski said, adding that his Great Uncle René Pauli's artwork and nature photography have also influenced him.

While Dr Chimileski said he still loves plants and animals, as he was conducting his graduate research he began focusing on microbes. The "invisible world that exists all around us" fascinated him.

Both brothers have accomplished a lot. Their father shared that Mr Chimileski received scholarships and awards while studying at UConn and he currently works as a clinical research assistant in the Department of Newborn Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, in collaboration with both Brigham and Women's Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

"I am most proud of my recent projects while working as a postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School. Here I have focused on several projects that combine art and science and communicate microbiology to people who are not scientists," said Dr Chimileski, who is also a photographer.

Dr Chimileski is currently working on his postdoctorate at Harvard Medical School, and he has written a book with Professor Dr Roberto Kolter, titled

, according to his website Dr Chimileski is also a writer and editor for the American Society for Microbiology at the Microbial Science blog on

Making the most of the "incredible opportunities" his family, mentors, and friends have afforded him is one of the things Mr Chimileski is most proud. He hopes to use those opportunities to give back to the community through health care.

"I will be working at Boston Children's Hospital until August, at which point I will begin at the UConn School of Medicine with the goal of obtaining both an MD and a master in public health [MPH] degree. I am most interested in working as an emergency department physician while also performing public health research, but my medical and research interests are vast," Mr Chimileski said this week.

When asked what lesson he has learned that he would share with others, Mr Chimileski said, "Don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone, because that is the only way to grow."

When asked the same question, Dr Chimileski said finding the right career path may be tricky, or it may not exist.

"In fact, it might be an opportunity," he said, "because it is possible to make the path you want for yourself and maybe even then become a pioneer in that area and make it easier for other people to explore that path in the future. That is what I am at least trying to do now in combining photography and microbiology and writing about microbes for the general public."

. The book is also available to purchase on Amazon.More information about Dr Chimileski's work and Life at the Edge of Sight, A Photographic Exploration of the Microbial World is available on his website