She's not the worst and actually she's really not bad. I didn't like the topics we learn and just don't really like the LS7 series in general, but this class was manageable, just the same stuff as 7A. She did rewrite the tests and it was pretty damn hard but the difficulty didn't increase for the final so this class was okay. The only thing that was really annoying about this class was that we had to wear PPE for the "labs" which were glorified worksheets and I had to wear pants on a 90-degree day to play with legos. The labs were terrible such a waste of 2 hours.

Would recommend taking this class with this professor! Tests are tough but the Launchpad, discussion, and iClicker help raise your grade. The class is overall very fair.

Pires is alright as a lecturer; since this is the 7 series, the professor doesn't matter too much, though it helps to have a professor who can explain the clicker questions better. Some people commented that Pires doesn't care about students, but I feel like she does - she lets us out early sometimes, etc.
In terms of material, I personally did not really enjoy the class's topics. I had some interest in genetics, but struggled through it until I took the final, which is when things finally started to click.
The first midterm (on genetics) honestly turned me off as it was very hard - probably the hardest LS exam I've taken thus far. I didn't do that great on the first midterm, but improved for the second midterm and the final, so don't lose hope if you don't do well in the beginning! I thought I was kind of done for after midterm 1, but still ended up doing fairly well in the end.

Bro, this class was a mess. Deb is by far one of the rudest and most arrogant professors I've ever had. I went to both of her review sessions for the midterms, and both times, I received incredibly condescending and belittling responses to my very valid questions. The second review session (which was at 7 AM BY THE WAY), I literally walked out 30 minutes in and went to B Plate breakfast, which was a much better use of my time.
The first midterm was a MASSACRE. I assumed it wouldn't be too bad because it covered genetics and pedigrees and stuff, which is probably review for most of us, but Deb and her TA's decided to rewrite the entire exam the weekend before because they allegedly heard from students that LS 7B was "too easy." Instead of curving the exam, Deb instead decided to throw out two questions to raise the average above a 75% (which is the cutoff for curving in the 7 series). I got a C+ on the exam, and I was ranked #38 out of about 350 people in the class. Like, what? The reason this exam was so difficult was because Deb decided to ask the most involved and the most difficult probability questions with pedigrees that required a lot of time to read and process. If you ask anyone who took 7B during this term, I guarantee they will agree with me. After addressing the exam in class, Deb went on some stupid rant about how you need to face things that will challenge you in life or else you will never grow.
I did get an A in the class because I did well on the second midterm and final, but they weren't much easier than the first exam and weren't really things you can study for (we know how the 7 series is) and I feel like I got lucky. This is coming from someone who got a 99% in 7A.
I liked Deb during my first few weeks in 7B because I recognized that she is knowledgeable about the material and is a decent lecturer. However, it became apparent to me that she is not at all concerned about student learning and is damaged by her own ego. Honestly, I would have rather taken this class with Princess...

Before I begin, I would like to say that the LS 7 series is built on a "flipped classroom" style of teaching, which is a euphemism for "fail-safe method created so that even the most thoroughly unqualified professor can teach the course because students will be able to teach themselves and do reasonably well." As a result, your experience in LS 7B is probably going to be very similar regardless of what professor you take.

For being one of the people behind the structuring of this series, Pires is a pretty terrible professor. She is clear when explaining the course content, but her approach to student questions is brutally condescending and makes you feel mentally incapacitated if you don't understand something the first time she says it. This was true for every single one of her office hours and her own review sessions. She is also incredibly boring in her presentation of the material, making it difficult to concentrate on her mind-numbing lectures. Her first midterm was unfairly long and convoluted, and almost no one finished it. Now I will take some of the blame here; I stressed myself out studying for the exam and proceeded to make dumb mistakes multiple times in a row, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the test was poorly designed. The second test was a little better, but several of the questions were poorly worded, needlessly complicated, and built to trick you. Again, I blame myself for some of the poor performance due to studying harder instead of smarter. The final was easier, and after averaging a D+ on the two midterms, I finally pulled it together and got a B overall thanks to the massive amounts of free points from LaunchPad and lab work, one of the few positives of this course.

The fact that Dr. Pires is far from the worst aspect of this course is frightening. The "labs" in this course are the most frustrating and useless busywork you've ever seen, and the TAs can range from helpful and engaging to complete hacks who are unfit to teach elementary school science. For some reason, it is seen as productive to wear PPE while smashing Legos together and staring at a computer for 2 hours while furiously scribbling down readings. Also, in the rare event that you finish early, you aren't allowed to leave. Regardless of whether I was performing a simulation, creating a null hypothesis, or observing plants in the Botanical Gardens, the labs in this course all created a unified thought: "Why the f*** am I doing this?"

Overall, don't listen to earlier comments that say that this course is easy. I took Chem 14D and Physics 5A at the same time as 7B, and those two classes were a JOKE in comparison to this ten-week migraine of a course. I was already not especially interested in ecology or evolutionary biology prior to LS 7B, but that disinterest has now festered into complete hatred. I would rather gouge my eyes out with shards of glass over sitting in another lecture with the spawn of Satan herself.

I read all these reviews bashing on Pires but Pires is lovely. She's super nice and clearly loves her job and is always willing to answer questions and occasionally would laugh at our memes in the chat.
Other than that, reviewing the launchpad PEQs and the clickers will be your best bet for the midterms/finals. Content itself really isn't that hard. Labs also aren't too difficult, but you have to go on time and actually do them on time.
Overall, reasonable deadlines, tests, etc, and enjoyable lectures. Pires is def worth taking.

I was really nervous going into this class because of all the negative reviews, and I had to go back and re-read them halfway through the course to make sure they're about the same professor - but I absolutely loved Deb! My class was really active in the chat, not just question wise but also discussing the course content or just talking about life, and she always welcomed it! She was also EXTREMELY encouraging, which was really refreshing after a year of online school - but she made sure to thank us for all of our hard work after each lecture, which really stuck with me and kept me motivated. I agree with other reviews saying the labs were kinda long and not helpful with understanding course content, but I didn't mind because they're pretty easy and boost your grade. She also offered a few points of extra credit for course evaluations. Like the rest of the 7 series, the exam questions were worded kinda tricky, but doable if you study correctly. I'm not a huge fan of flipped classroom bc I'm a visual learner, so I struggle with all the Launchpad reading, but Deb made it a lot more manageable and she was always happy to clarify anything we didn't understand. I didn't particularly like the course content after the first midterm but I still enjoyed the class and having her as a prof!

I honestly feel like Deb must have been cloned or undergone a complete personality flip because I have no idea what the negative reviewers are talking about. She was a great professor, super sweet and helpful! Her lectures are pretty well-paced with a lot of clicker questions, so it can be confusing at times but she always made sure to answer everyone's questions thoroughly, often drawing diagrams and going step-by-step. My class tended to ask questions and talk in the chat a lot and she seemed excited that her students were engaging so much (even said the questions/comments were phenomenal). I went to her office hours a couple times and found them extremely helpful, especially the extra ones she offered before the final exam. I also emailed her with a question on the midterm and she got back to me in about 5 minutes. I will say that the labs for this class are extremely tedious and usually took me more than the allotted discussion time, but I don't know how much that varies between professors in the course. Overall, Deb is a great professor who seems to genuinely care about her students and I enjoyed her class a lot (minus the labs). Plus, she always ends the week telling us have a happy and safe weekend :)

The reviews on bruin walk literally seem like they're talking about a diff professor. I took Deb for 7A and 7B and I really enjoyed the class. I think the flipped classroom style makes students accountable for their own learning, and the clicker questions are a really good way to comprehend and give an example of what exams might be like (some clickers are really REALLY similar to exam questions)! I felt like Deb was really good at pausing and answering questions, kept up with the chat, and OH's were always fun. The only thing I disliked about these courses were the labs. I have enjoyed interacting with my TA's, but it was just pure busy work. Not helpful for studying for the exams at all, and way longer than necessary. Obviously this class is different because of the online setting, but I still felt like I was learning the material well. It was hard at times to keep up with launchpad, but any motivated student could do it. Exams were straight up difficult, and there was no group portion, unlike 7A. Would not recommend this course if you want an easy A though, you really have to work for it. I felt like I learned a lot out of this course, so it makes sense that it is as hard as it is.

Debra is a piece of work. She is by far the rudest, least -emotionally- considerate professor/lecturer I have ever met at UCLA. On the other hand, having literally designed the series, she has close-to full knowledge/control over the material. So:
Pros: She's very organized, she knows the material and will lead the class to fully understanding it.
This was very helpful for me and let me do well: when professors are a mess, students sometimes end up mirroring their anxiety and doing badly.
Cons: She's rude. You can't ask her a question without hearing a non-informative snarky remark. I've only answered her questions and helped/given her things she needed and she was still very dismissive. If you need one-on-one time with the professor, she ain't it.

The class: you most likely have to take it, and the material/tests/grading isn't different for other professors. Apparently they made it harder this year but still easier than 7A.

The TA: Don't worry about lab, they're all very easy and generously graded. Just show up and wear the dress-code.
My TA, James, you were an incredibly nice, cool dude but also the worst TA I've ever had. He didn't care to learn the course material. As a result his response to every single question in lecture/lab/exam times was : "I don't know". I made sure to schedule my questions and ask any other TA for guidance during tests.