He is nice and funny. However, I felt like he didn’t care much about students like Koehler did. He often canceled his office hours, and did not hold any review sessions before the exams. He also didn’t bruincast his lecture so be aware of this. His lectures were engaging, but it was sometimes hard to hear since he kind of rambles when he talks. His lecture doesn’t really match with what is covered in the textbook. He goes more in depth, but his exam questions are pretty straightforward(easier than Koehler’s questions). Just study what he says and you’ll get all his questions right. No need to use textbooks or Youtube lectures, those won’t really help for Gober’s part. His exam questions were either 1) regurgitating pathways or 2) things he covered on his lecture. Koehler gave us 1hr 20minutes for the midterm but Gober only gave us 50 minutes.

Not sure what all the hype about Gober is. He's a good lecturer, as compared to Kohler, but definitely a lot less sympathetic in terms of exams. Powerpoints aren't helpful in his case since he mostly discusses from his own notes. No bruincast for his section of the class.

The true false (and correction if false) portion of his exam was devastating for the second midterm. 5 points per question, 5 questions in total.

In terms of accommodations for COVID-19, we were given extra time before and after the test to print and upload. The final was pretty difficult even with a list of topics given to guide our studying.

Breakdown: Just 2 midterms (100 points) and final (200)

TAKEN DURING COVID*** For me, this class was not it. The first midterm was super rough (with an average just above an F I believe) which was surprising given that all the tests were open book/note. Gober posts all his lectures and does offer extra credit, but the tests in my opinion were pretty difficult and hard to predict. The TAs graded harshly and would take off points for things like going outside the answer box (even though for some questions there wasn’t a lot of room) or messy handwriting. It was a “curve at the end” class, so grades ended up being higher at the end (above 84 was a solid A), but that meant that test averages were super low. The quarter that I took it in should definitely be taken into account, but overall I don’t feel like I learned very much from this class.

I thought Gober was pretty clear in what we had to know for exams especially since he tells us in lecture or through email before the exam what to study. This cut down a lot of pathways we didn't have to focus on for the final especially (cholesterol biosynthesis, TAG biosynthesis, etc).

Since Gober doesn't bruincast, I would definitely recommend recording lectures. He talks pretty fast at times. Although I don't recommend going through all of them as a study tool, it's helpful to be able to go back when you miss something small.

Overall, don't worry about your grade too much since 80+ is basically an A.

Have you ever wondered why high fructose corn syrup is bad for you? Or why people might try the keto diet? Or why HDL cholesterol is "good" and LDL cholesterol is "bad"? These are some of the real-life questions that Chem 153C seeks to answer.
Chem 153C is arguably one of my favorite classes I've ever taken at UCLA. In this class, the topics of organic chemistry and some basic physiology come together to create a very interesting subject - the reactions of carbs, fats, proteins, and lipids within the human body. You learn so much about metabolism that is extremely relevant and applicable to real life, as I mentioned in the examples above. In addition, you learn about various diseases and their biochemical basis - these diseases range from very common ones like diabetes to very rare ones like PKU. Yes, this class is hard, and yes there is a decent amount of memorization involved, but the concepts and lessons you learn in this class are extremely valuable.
In winter 2020, the class was co-taught by Koehler (weeks 1-5) and Gober (weeks 6-10). Gober's lectures were overall more structured and on topic than Koehler's, and he was able to break down complicated topics so that we could understand them. He was also pretty funny and included a lot of random pop culture examples that related to biochemistry. Yes, there were times when topics were unclear and you had to piece things together, but overall, Gober was very decent lecturer. I had previously had Gober for 153A and I felt like lectures for 153C were overall more coherent.
In regards to grading, the class is simply graded 25% midterm 1, 25% midterm 2, 50% final and 10 pts extra credit for attending a seminar. Gober wrote a good portion of midterm 2 and most of the final was his material as well. Gober does tell you what to study for in regards to the questions on the midterms and final, but it's definitely not extremely specific. As such, I would encourage you to study everything related to the topic he brings up. For example, if he says that a question is about pentose phosphate pathway regulation, you should know everything about that topic very well.
Also, he curves the class pretty well; I ended the quarter with ~85% course average and got the grade above, so don't worry too much about the grade, just try to enjoy the material! :)

He is an amazing professor !

Koehler is a terrible lecturer, but Gober makes up for it. The exams are rough only because it’s a lot for 50 minutes. I think this class with these professors is really not that bad compared to Clarke. Clarke tests heavily on chemistry and mechanisms. Koehler and Gober focus more on memorizing important pathways. They still tested on some mechanisms but not as crazy as what I’ve seen Clarke test on. I think they said 75% was an A- and 80% was an A, which is really generous. This class is no joke though, there is A LOT of material! This class isn’t necessarily hard, it’s just a lot of stuff to memorize. Like if you don’t put in the time to memorize beforehand, you’re not gonna be able to figure it out on the exam. You either know it or you don’t. Gober tells you exactly what’s on the final. Koehler was evil and put the methionine pathway on our final...a really obscure pathway that was barely emphasized. All in all, just make sure you find out what memorization technique works best for you. For me it was making diagrams drawn by hand and also writing everything out a bunch of times. (Writing something is equivalent to reading something seven times!)

Text ********** for practice midterms and finals

Good professor, just put in your work memorizing the pathways and the material. He is very clear as to what he expects and there's no tricks, just a lot of work. Wish I had gone to his office hours more but I ended up doing fine. Also DO THE EXTRA CREDIT. it's a huge boost.

Okay, this class was taught by Dr. Koehler and Dr. Gober. Dr. Koehler was pretty much terrible, but Dr. Gober was fantastic. Dr. Koehler was really confusing and had a hard time explaining the concepts clearly to students. Honestly, it was a lot more useful to watch AK lecture videos regarding the concepts that Dr. Koehler was suppose to teach. None of her past tests were in the bruin test bank either. Best advice is to the do the worksheets that she posts on CCLE. Dr. Gober, on the other hand, was great. He would tell you what is on his exam (midterm II, final), so you can direct your focus of study on specific concepts. And believe me, there is A LOT of material that's covered. 153A was a piece of cake compared to this class. And the name of the game is to simply memorize. Memorize structures, memorize enyzme names, memorize everything. Didn't even have to crack open the textbook once, just use lecture slides and AK lectures.

The entire class was based on 2 midterms (100 points each), 1 final (200 points), one 10 point extra credit project, and end-of-the quarter evaluations. The class is curved, and Dr. Gober said that if you show improvement from the first midterm to the second, you may get a grade boost (like B+ to A-). As long as you hit the class average, you should be near the B+/A- range (again, according to professor Gober).