Chip's images have won or placed in numerous underwater photography competitions, and have been exhibited at the British Underwater Image Festival in Birmingham, Asian Dive Expo (ADEX) in Singapore, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, the Environmental Photography Invitational gallery show in Seattle, and the Festival Mondial de l'Image Sous Marine in Antibes. In 2007 his images were featured at a single artist exhibition titled "Predators and Prey In 2009, his video essay titled "Loving Sharks" won the coveted Ocean Geographic Underwater Photo Journalist Award 2009 at the Celebrate the Sea fesitval in Singapore, while his website (www.johnscarlett.com) won the prize for most artistic underwater website at the Festival Mondial de l'Image Sous Marine in Antibes, France. An ardent conservationist, Chip is also a member of the Board of Directors of Shark Savers, which is a leading non-governmental organization dedicated to shark advocacy. He also serves on the Earlham College Board of Trustees.

In his business life, Chip has been a serial entrepreneur, serving as President and CEO of both public and private biotechnology companies, including Tercica, Inc. and Proteolix, Inc. He holds a B.A. with Honors degree from Earlham College, an MD with Honors degree from the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine, trained in Internal Medicine at the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania, and in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Colorado.