These are two remarkable virologists: Pyotr (on the left) and Konstantin Chumakov. They are brothers, Pyotr us one year older. Their parents were famous Soviet virologists Mikhail Chumakov and Marina Voroshilova.

Today Konstantin Chumakov is an associate director of vaccine research at the FDA and a US citizen. Pyotr Chumakov used to be the director of an laboratory in Cleveland but returned to Russia after accepting a “mega grant” and becoming the head of

the Laboratory of Cell Proliferation at the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology in Moscow. Both brothers were educated at the Moscow State University.

Konstantin Chumakov started his scientific work in molecular biology and eventually moved to medical applications. Pyotr studied medicine and although he become famous because of an important discovery in biology, he has always treated patients.

According to Konstantin Chumakov the two of them are in constant contact by Skype and are very close.