MCD BIO C141
Molecular Basis of Plant Differentiation and Development
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: Life Sciences 1, 3, 4, and 23L, or 7A, 7B, 7C, 23L, and 107. In-depth study of basic processes of growth differentiation and development in plants and molecular mechanisms underlying these processes. Discussion of variety of plant systems, with focus on developing critical understanding of current experimental basis of research in this field. Concurrently scheduled with course C239. Letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2016 - I will preface this review with this statement: this class is not curved, tough and requires a lot of studying. Professor Lee is great; she was very helpful and made it clear to the class that she was available to meet and gave appropriate times. The lecture slides were sometimes hard to follow, and she would often brush over experimental techniques, assuming that we know what they are. The exams are long and very time-constrained. You MUST know all experimental techniques before her exams if you want to do well. However, she did give plenty of bonus points on the exams (15% bonus points for both midterms and 20% bonus points on the final) to cushion your grade and boost you up. There is a presentation that must be done on a research paper that everyone has to do in discussion, but it wasn't too bad. Overall, a very fair class. The TA was extremely helpful and made this class a little more doable.
Spring 2016 - I will preface this review with this statement: this class is not curved, tough and requires a lot of studying. Professor Lee is great; she was very helpful and made it clear to the class that she was available to meet and gave appropriate times. The lecture slides were sometimes hard to follow, and she would often brush over experimental techniques, assuming that we know what they are. The exams are long and very time-constrained. You MUST know all experimental techniques before her exams if you want to do well. However, she did give plenty of bonus points on the exams (15% bonus points for both midterms and 20% bonus points on the final) to cushion your grade and boost you up. There is a presentation that must be done on a research paper that everyone has to do in discussion, but it wasn't too bad. Overall, a very fair class. The TA was extremely helpful and made this class a little more doable.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2019 - Besides what the previous reviews have stated, this is THE class to take especially as a senior in your last quarter at UCLA. When I was figuring out my schedule for my last quarter to graduate, I was not too thrilled to find out that this mcdb class, which was heavily plant based, was one of the only few mcdb electives offered. But he is an incredibly clear and enthusiastic lecturer! The workload is just right. His class is out of 1000 points. Both of his midterms/quizzes are 200 points (final is 400 points), which sounds kind of terrifying at first, but he NEVER tricks you on any of his exams. Everything you need to know for his exams are from his lecture slides and podcasts. When you present your paper with your group in discussion, the TAs seems to love asking about what the controls are in certain figures. One of the things I liked the most about the class was that your name was anonymous if you ask a question on the CCLE discussion board. I liked this because it can encourage you to ask questions, especially for those who are shy. All in all, I highly recommend taking this class, especially after you take MCDB 144 and 165a because a lot of the techniques he discusses overlap.
Spring 2019 - Besides what the previous reviews have stated, this is THE class to take especially as a senior in your last quarter at UCLA. When I was figuring out my schedule for my last quarter to graduate, I was not too thrilled to find out that this mcdb class, which was heavily plant based, was one of the only few mcdb electives offered. But he is an incredibly clear and enthusiastic lecturer! The workload is just right. His class is out of 1000 points. Both of his midterms/quizzes are 200 points (final is 400 points), which sounds kind of terrifying at first, but he NEVER tricks you on any of his exams. Everything you need to know for his exams are from his lecture slides and podcasts. When you present your paper with your group in discussion, the TAs seems to love asking about what the controls are in certain figures. One of the things I liked the most about the class was that your name was anonymous if you ask a question on the CCLE discussion board. I liked this because it can encourage you to ask questions, especially for those who are shy. All in all, I highly recommend taking this class, especially after you take MCDB 144 and 165a because a lot of the techniques he discusses overlap.
Most Helpful Review
A lot of stuff to memorize in her class. Her tests are very esoteric, she looks for key phrases that that no one really expects. It's like she expects the students to read her mind. It's ok though because, usually everyone does poorly on the exams, and it's curved. Journals are a bitch to read in this class, especially since direct content from the journals are tested in discussion and on midterm/final and not just the concept, so you actually have to read them. It helps though if you use BruinDemand because they summarize the papers so you don't have to spend hours reread them for the final. Overall, the letter grading you get in this class is just like any other mcdb class, but you will have to memorize and read a lot.
A lot of stuff to memorize in her class. Her tests are very esoteric, she looks for key phrases that that no one really expects. It's like she expects the students to read her mind. It's ok though because, usually everyone does poorly on the exams, and it's curved. Journals are a bitch to read in this class, especially since direct content from the journals are tested in discussion and on midterm/final and not just the concept, so you actually have to read them. It helps though if you use BruinDemand because they summarize the papers so you don't have to spend hours reread them for the final. Overall, the letter grading you get in this class is just like any other mcdb class, but you will have to memorize and read a lot.
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