College of Dentistry: News

Dr. John "Jay" Kelley, Associate Professor, Oral Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, shares a passion for paleontology and a strong love for wildlife. From traveling to Kenya, China, and Brazil, Dr. Kelley has explored a whole additional science outside of dentistry

In 2007 Dr. Kelley, on a research mission in Zhaotong, China, hit the jackpot. He found a complete skeleton of a primitive elephant.

"Most fossils when found are broken up," Dr. Kelley said. "When the animals die, their remains get transported by rivers and scavenged most of the time. The particular site in China is the kind of site that tends to have a lot of whole skeletons. It was pretty cool!"

The elephant, Zygolophodon, dating back anywhere from three to four million years ago in the Pliocene period, was found in almost perfect condition.

In addition to continuing the work in China, Dr. Kelley hopes to go back to Kenya to do some more analytical work on fossils as well as study more wildlife. "Some people get bored and don't want to sit for a long period outside," Dr. Kelley concluded. "I could sit for hours and just watch the wildlife."

-Nadeen Nakib