At SF State since 2000
Title(s): Associate Professor
Department: Biology, College of Science and Engineering
Location: Hensill Hall 704, SF State
Phone Number: (415) 338-1784
Email: denetclaw@sfsu.edu
Overview
Wilfred F. Denetclaw, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology at San Francisco State University, was born and raised in Shiprock, New Mexico on the Navajo Nation. In the Navajo tradition, he is Many Hogans clan, born for the Salt clan, with maternal and paternal grandfathers from the Ta'neeszahnii and Tł’ááshchí’í clans, respectively. He began his academic journey at Diné College and earned a B.S. in Biology from Fort Lewis College in 1983. He received his Ph.D. in Zoology from UC Berkeley in 1991, followed by postdoctoral work at UCSF and research at Athena Biotechnology. In 2000, he joined SFSU as an Assistant Professor, achieving tenure in 2006. Dr. Denetclaw teaches cell and molecular biology and leads research on signaling pathways in muscle development. He has served extensively in university and professional committees, including SACNAS and the American Society for Cell Biology. He has received the SACNAS Presidential Service Award and the Crossing Borders Award, and has been featured in documentaries such as PBS’s BreakThrough and HHMI’s Not So Wild A Dream. His research has been funded by NIH and NSF, currently supported by the NSF STC UCSF Center for Cellular Construction.