Department of Biology

For many students, a high school internship is a chance to shadow professionals and explore career paths. But for recent Bloomington South graduate London Mitchell, the opportunity became something much more – an opportunity that not only led to a published scientific paper but also transformed her career aspirations.

Guiding her through it all was Erica Nadolski, a Ph.D. candidate in biology in Professor and Department Chair Armin Moczek’s lab in the Department of Biology at Indiana University Bloomington.

Mitchell and Nadolski’s collaboration resulted in a study recently published in Evolution & Development, a leading journal in the field of evolutionary developmental biology, originally founded by IU Distinguished Professor Rudy Raff. The achievement stands out not just for its scientific contribution, but also for the mentorship and outreach that made it possible.

“To me, this highlights some of the best of IU Biology – empowering collaborations across generations of scientists and connecting ‘town and gown’ by enabling Bloomington High School students to share in the benefits of scientific training and discovery,” Moczek said. “None of this would have been possible without Erica’s creativity and dedication.”

That dedication was recently recognized with the 2025 Bill Rowland Mentoring Award, presented by IU’s Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior. The award honors excellence in mentoring and is named for a founding member known for his exemplary guidance in science.

Nadolski’s relationship with Mitchell began years earlier, on the volleyball court.

“My freshman year of high school, Erica was my assistant volleyball coach,” Mitchell said. “We hit it off, talking about her past research. She told me, ‘Hit me up whenever you're a senior if you want to come work with me.’ I looked forward to it for years.”

In just a 12-week trimester, the two developed and executed a project investigating genetic components influencing the regulation of sex-specific trait development using horned beetles as a model system. The results were both significant and surprising. For example, Mitchell was able to cause beetles possessing the sex chromosomes that would normally result in the development of female adults to instead express a suite of traits normally only found in males – a finding that energized Mitchell and deepened her interest in science.

“I didn’t really know what working in a lab would feel like,” she said. “Erica did a very good job of prepping me. I loved it.”

For Nadolski, the experience was equally rewarding.

“I’ll look back at this as one of the highlights of my dissertation,” she said. “London brought such fresh excitement and insight. This project wouldn’t have happened without her.”

“She let me mess things up,” Mitchell said. “She taught me not only scientific skills but how to collaborate and be in a good lab environment.”

Now a student at North Park University in Chicago, Mitchell has shifted her focus from medicine to a future in molecular genetics and research. Inspired by her time at IU, she hopes to one day mentor others, just as Nadolski did for her.

“I want to be mentoring people and teaching people and passing on that knowledge,” Mitchell said. “That’s what Erica has done for me.”

For Nadolski, the experience is a testament to IU Biology’s community-centered approach to science.

“One of the things I’m most proud of about our department is that we’re integrated with the community,” she said. “Projects like this show that science is approachable and collaborative – and that anyone can be a part of it.”