Professor
Guillaume Chanfreau
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - I found the material in this class really interesting because it tied a lot into my research, but otherwise I think it could be overwhelming, there is a lot of content. Class grading is based off of 2 midterms and 1 final, they are all a mix of matching/multiple choice, short answer, and interpreting experimental results. I thought the first midterm would be super easy because it covered the least content, but it was actually pretty tough -- I think sometimes the prof will try to make questions harder by providing poor/unclear images that you need to identify. My biggest tip for the exams would be to make a good "cheat sheet", be familiar with experimental techniques, and BE SPECIFIC when answering questions to avoid losing easy points. Also READ the questions, as sometimes he will almost make them trick questions -- be sure you know exactly what the question is asking for, and sometimes even one single word can mean a different question is being asked. The exams are not cumulative, which was nice, but there is a lot of content. Some of the experimental questions can be difficult as well, so make sure you know the mechanisms/pathways well. I also found that this class did not really have a big focus on mechanisms/molecular structure in the sense that 153A did, rather it emphasizes certain chemical elements in structures that are important, and large-scale pathways for DNA/RNA. So I didn't find it helpful to learn traditional ochem mechanisms, even though they were presented in class. I would recommend this class if you are interested in things like DNA/RNA repair, transcription, translation, etc. The prof. does a good job of responding to emails, and tries to make class engaging, although some of his jokes are a little cheesy. The last part of the class came from participation (discussion sections and class attendance).
Fall 2022 - I found the material in this class really interesting because it tied a lot into my research, but otherwise I think it could be overwhelming, there is a lot of content. Class grading is based off of 2 midterms and 1 final, they are all a mix of matching/multiple choice, short answer, and interpreting experimental results. I thought the first midterm would be super easy because it covered the least content, but it was actually pretty tough -- I think sometimes the prof will try to make questions harder by providing poor/unclear images that you need to identify. My biggest tip for the exams would be to make a good "cheat sheet", be familiar with experimental techniques, and BE SPECIFIC when answering questions to avoid losing easy points. Also READ the questions, as sometimes he will almost make them trick questions -- be sure you know exactly what the question is asking for, and sometimes even one single word can mean a different question is being asked. The exams are not cumulative, which was nice, but there is a lot of content. Some of the experimental questions can be difficult as well, so make sure you know the mechanisms/pathways well. I also found that this class did not really have a big focus on mechanisms/molecular structure in the sense that 153A did, rather it emphasizes certain chemical elements in structures that are important, and large-scale pathways for DNA/RNA. So I didn't find it helpful to learn traditional ochem mechanisms, even though they were presented in class. I would recommend this class if you are interested in things like DNA/RNA repair, transcription, translation, etc. The prof. does a good job of responding to emails, and tries to make class engaging, although some of his jokes are a little cheesy. The last part of the class came from participation (discussion sections and class attendance).
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