This review is for LS 107 which was one of my first courses at UCLA (I'm a transfer). I have to say I was intimidated at first, but ended up enjoying the course very much by the end.
The previous reviews are very accurate. Dr. Pham is an incredibly kind man, super knowledgeable in the field of genetics, and just wants his students to succeed. He has a decently thick accent but I got completely used to it by week 2. The most important study tool in this class are his previous midterms which he posts on CCLE. Pay very close attention to the format, length, problem style, and problem wording when you practice these tests.

In regards of study material, the class consists of:
-Textbook (used it in the first weeks, realized it is not needed at all)
-Clicker questions (critical for getting the basis of concepts for the more heavy problems, and worth participation points)
-Discussion worksheets (sample midterm questions your TA solves)
-Weekly CCLE worksheets (more sample midterm questions for practice)
-Weekly discussion quizzes (depends on TA, based on prev week's wkst)
-Lecture slides (for general concept and clicker Q's)
-Previous midterms (many get posted on CCLE, do as much as you can starting with most recent ones)
-Bruincast videos (Dr. Lasky explaining concepts, since LS107 is now a flipped classroom where you come to class primarily to solve problems)
-Online quizzes (based off the videos)

As you can see there is a ton of study material here. I think you will have no problem getting a high grade in this class if you understand how to solve nearly all problem types that he emphasizes. I went to my TA many times for help, and by the test time I knew how to solve pretty much every problem.
My scores:
Participation 44/44
Online Qz 26/26
Discussion Qz 30/30
MT1 97/100
MT2 100/100
Final Exam 191/200
Final grade 488/500 = 97.6%

The averages for all exams were really high (MT 1 was about 78%, MT2 was IN THE 90's!!, final was 83%). You will be fine, don't worry.
I hope my review was thorough and helpful! Good luck in the course and in your future endeavors.

It doesn't really matter who you have for LS7A, as the class is standardized (everyone takes the same exams, has the same assignments, same text, lectures, etc.). So if I were you I'd pick the time that's most convenient rather than going for a specific professor.
The most important thing to remember about this class is that everything you do matters. Go to every discussion, don't miss a single assignment, and don't miss more than 2 lectures (you get two free absences) as there is no curve in the class and there are a lot of "non-exam" points, and you wanna optimize on all of these points since the exam can get quite tricky at times. I wouldn't say the material itself on the exams was difficult, there was minimal memorization and the concepts were pretty easy to understand, but the questions would get quite obscure and the wording was designed in a way to trick you at times. They key to doing well in the class is practice over absorbing material, if that makes sense. You have to get used to the way questions will be framed in exams. So focus on clicker questions and practice exam questions, and I'd also recommend going to the LA review sessions because they give you more questions to practice.
Pham specifically was alright tho. He definitely has an accent but you get used to is pretty quickly so it's not that bad. He's also very nice and willing to help you if you ask him.

It's really hard to rate this class because it honestly just depends on the amount of effort your willing to put in and your interest/dedication to the subject. Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of bio but I dedicated a decent amount of time to understanding the material. Professor Pham is a really great guy, and very knowledgeable on the subject. That being said, who you have has a professor doesn't really matter. The 7 series is completely standardized and you do most of the learning on your own anyway (flipped classroom).
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There are a few important things to keep in mind if you want an A

These are the tactics that worked best for me:
- Always do the launchpad and do your best to get every point possible
-Don't skim the launchpad, actually do it and make sure you're reading the textbook
-Don't focus on memorizing minor details and molecule names: Your primary focus should be the topics in the pre-class review sheet
-If something is discussed in lecture or repeated multiple times MAKE SURE you know it- It's definitely going to be on the exam
-If you're reviewing the clicker questions before an exam and you're stuck just review the lecture on bruincast- all of his lectures are recorded and posted there
-Clarify topics you don't understand with your TA and don't be afraid to ask questions

Pham was so cute and cared about his students' learning. People complain about his accent, but it isn't that bad... just pay attention and you'll know what he's talking about.
In general, I don't really like the 7 series, but the class is quite standardized, so don't worry TOO much about the professor. Read lecture slides, skim over Launchpad, DO Launchpad (don't miss out on easy points here), attend lecture (you don't have to pay attention to understand material, but just do the clicker questions), and make sure you really understand the thought processes behind the clicker questions.
I loved AP Bio in high school, but the 7 series will be different lol... regardless, just don't get too overconfident and sleep really well the night before the tests. Don't overthink the tests and don't dwell on challenging questions; go with your gut.
Also, study for the final. I did decently on the midterms but didn't study much for the final and it was significantly harder than the midterms for me. Could have been the difference in material too...

Honestly, I didn't really find lecture to be incredibly helpful for learning the material. The course material wasn't incredibly dense and was very manageable; there's no textbook just online lecture videos. One thing to note is that this course is a flipped classroom, so lectures mainly cover clicker questions (similar to other LS 7 series courses, but with videos instead of Launchpad).

There are years' worth of old tests and quizzes available for students to study, and the exams we received were very similar to these past tests. As such, I found that simply studying the past exams' questions and learning how to answer these problems was the most efficient way to study for this class. Honestly, I crammed a day or two before exams and did pretty well using this method.

I highly recommend this course as an UD elective!

I have the old quizzes for sale cheap, email *************. These are not found on quizlet

I dropped this class Fall 2018 because I bombed the first midterm. So I was determined to retake the course, learn from my mistakes, and do well. What I did differently: never looked at the textbook, went to every lecture for participation, printed at least 6 old exams to practice from. I really put in more time and effort into studying the old exams and past problems which is what I think really helped my performance. I printed out enough exams that go back 3 years, per Dr. Pham's advice, and started them as soon as possible, typically after discussion so we knew how to start the problems. I had Leanne as my TA, who is phenomenal and I think the best TA for this class. She has really easy techniques that make solving problems easier to memorize and easy to understand. I also went to the professor's OH often to reinforce all the problems and get help on any other problems. I think these strategies are truly what got me an A+ in the course, which is very doable because I was taking 11 other units and worked part-time. My scores-- M1: 93.5/100, M2: 100/100, Final: 200/200, Online Quiz: 30/30, Clicker: 30/30, Discussion: 50/50. He did not curve because the class did well on each exam. Just put in the time to do those exams, and your midterms will be very similar if not exactly the same.

Hung is such a sweet guy so I feel bad saying this, but there is a bit of difficulty created by his accent and I usually have no trouble understanding accents (I do have an auditory processing disorder but it's never been this hard for me before). That being said, he is so kind and willing to help and always enthusiastic. My only critique is that he got fairly behind in the material by the end and had to breeze through quite a bit on the last day. As a whole, I would still recommend taking him, especially if he teaches with Khankan again. I would DEFINITELY take him over Pires or Kane.

Dr. Pham is so great. I really don't understand why people hate on him so much. Yes, it can be hard to decipher what he's saying at times, but he is aware of that and makes a conscious effort to repeat important things 2-3 times per lecture and in office hours. And since he is aware of his strong accent, I sincerely think this class would be way harder if he didn't have such a strong accent. I studied for this class everyday and did well- no matter what professor you have, that's what it comes down to because it is ALL memorization. It really isn't a difficult class, and Pham simplifies things greatly. I have never taken a science class here where I have felt as prepared for the exams- he makes it so easy to do well if you're willing to put in the effort! He is such a nice and caring professor, I wish people would forgive his accent since he has so many other great qualities.

Dr. Pham is a great professor! The whole LS7 series is standardized so grading wise it doesn't matter which professor you get. Dr. Pham is extremely sweet and nice though, and it's very clear that he genuinely cares about his students and the subject, and he always makes sure to answer any questions during lecture. Would definitely recommend taking Dr. Pham for this class!