GOD BLESS HER.

Coller cares a lot about techniques. She places an emphasis on experimental design. She often asks questions during lectures, which are somewhat dry.

How to ace this class:

I recommend really focusing on the papers. Understand the experimental design and all the reagents/model systems used for each paper. This part of the course -- the emphasis on research -- is what made the class interesting and valuable, in my opinion. I really feel like I learned a lot about cell biology.

Other parts of her midterms/final are dependent on lecture material, so I would say that it's important to review her slides often. They are actually not that dense, just a bit boring to go over. If you can handle that, you should be fine for this class.

Note: I have yet to finish the class, so me claiming to have gotten an "A" is a bit presumptuous. Dr. Coller has become one of my favorite professors at UCLA. I almost wish this course was a prerequisite for the LS Core courses because Dr. Coller does such a good job of explaining so many fundamental cell biology concepts (like microscopy, different experimental techniques, transport, etc). Her course is also designed to improve your analysis and understanding of scientific papers, which, personally, I believe she has accomplished. What I have learned is valuable and incredibly interesting.
She makes it very easy for you to succeed in this class. As mentioned in a previous review, her exams are fair, and she isn't a tough grader. The averages for both of our midterms were 88%/89%, and the medians were both in the low 90's. There are 6 take home quizzes based on papers relevant to the material you're learning (she drops the lowest score), and your TA's help you break down the papers. There's one in-class quiz, where you're a given an entire lecture period to read a paper, and answers questions on said paper. It's all doable! Try not to fall behind, and leave everything to the last minute, and you should have no problems getting a good grade.

This was by far my favorite class in MCDB at UCLA--due in no small part to Dr. Coller's humble brilliance. Her lectures are very well put together and she knew the answers to every question students posed. Her tests were fair and she wasn't a tough grader. Also, the material in this class is applicable to anyone doing research or interested in doing research. The papers chosen are pertinent and timely. I learned how to read a paper properly in this class. As for Dr. Coller as an individual, she is extremely pleasant and caring. I highly recommend taking 165A with her. I wish she taught other MCDB classes.