I LOVE THIS WOMAN this professor is such a sweetheart!!!! I took this class as an incoming freshman in summer session c (thus first official course at ucla EVER) alongside another 6-week course and the workload was 100% manageable! i took ap bio in hs which DEF helped ESPECIALLY when discussing cell division, the cell cycle, haploid, diploid, etc. but beyond that, she is so clear, understanding and helpful. I love her so much + is SO good at lecturing !!

YOU DO NOT NEED TO READ THE BOOK AT ALL I read the first 3 chapters and never touched it again, TRUST me, there is nothing in there that she asks, references in class, quizzes you on, etc. its really just a reinforcer, NOT a necessity by ANY means.

Be prepared to memorize ALOT! If you have taken 153A , then you'll know what I'm talking about. The materials and concepts are not very difficult to understand but still this memorization makes it hard. The papers that we had to read weekly also is tough. When I had her, I was able to take the quizes with the papers in front of me, but it was still hard. I submitted a lot of my journals to bruindemand.org for summaries because they take so much time to read on your own, and youre tested more on lecture than scientific papers. Again, make time to memorize and you will come out alright.

Be prepared to listen to her lecture non-stop throughout the duration of the class. She does not engage the students in the lecture (e.g. no questions, no student involvement whatsoever). Forgets to give 3min breaks even though the class is 2 hours long so you end up braindead or asleep.
Don't even try emailing her. She will reply 2-3 days later with one sentence to your long paragraph or not reply at all. Better try emailing the TA. The TA for this class was very helpful and seemed more knowledgable. He was willing to answer questions and elaborate on every topic.
She reads off her slides. You just have to learn whatever is on the slides.
Do go to discussion sections because the techniques used in the weekly papers are on the exam.
Exam is less based on memorization and more heavily on application of techniques, which is good. However, that application is only a fraction of your grade despite the fact that your write pages. If you do miss one T/F question, you lose 2-3 points.
Moral of the story, don't take her if you're trying to go for an A. If you're okay with A- or B, then she's doable. You have to work for it though.