I thought I wasn't gonna make it in this class during the first 5 weeks with Koehler, despite her extremely fair exams. Just going to class and knowing it wouldn't be super helpful / coherent was a huge downer with Koehler, although her review sessions were much more clear.
By contrast, Gober brought so much energy to class. I have NEVER laughed so much during a class. Incredible guy, with an actual ability to teach (on days where he stays more focused). And I have to say, I have never regretted a single thing that this man asked me to write down. Even if I didn't understand it the first time around, when I reviewed the things he explicitly asked the class to write down, I was struck by how concise and clear it was - and you can be sure he would actually test on it.
This class, taught by these two professors, becomes manageable only because the exams are straightforward, far more than Tienson's vague shenanigans and nitpicky wording. Gober is a huge homie too, as he narrows the focus of studying for the final as it's based mainly in his material and he clearly explains what will be on the exam. But make no mistake, there is still an extreme amount of memorization.
Contrary to what a previous review said, Gober made our extra credit worth just 2.5% (10 points out of 400). Pretty sure this had to do with our high averages. If the class is struggling though, you can be sure this dude will come in with the assist.

Gober was a great professor for 153C. He printed out the lecture slides for everybody and I found it easier to study that way. Gober is an interesting person. He's incredibly jolly and likes to joke around. He made us laugh more than once with his antics in the morning.

I thought Gober's midterm was a bit harder than Koehler's midterm and he wrote most of the final. I strongly recommend recording the last lecture at least. Gober went over a lot of what would be on the final which made finals week much, much less stressful. Also do the extra credit. Gober is on record saying it's just a straight +15% to your grade so it is very important to doing well in the class.

Overall, this class wasn't actually that bad. Definitely recommend Gober/Koehler for this class.

Professors Gober and Koehler co-taught this class. I would not be afraid.

Materials
None.

Grading Scheme
Midterm 1 100 points
Midterm 2 100 points
Final 200 points
They never talked about how grades would be assigned, but I assumed they were curved upward a little. I got 60s on the midterms and ended with a B-.

Personality
Professor Gober was hilarious. I enjoyed him more than Koehler because he was more organized and his lectures were more interesting and relevant. He somehow made photosynthesis and respiration fascinating. I went to his office hours a couple of times and he seemed eager to answer questions.

Lecture
Everything that we needed to know was covered in lecture. They were audiocasted. However, I recommend going to them because he would often mention, "You don't need to know this." Save yourself unnecessary studying. Aside from that, his lectures were great, and I learned a lot. If not for those, I would not have been able to stand 153C.

Exams
He wrote half of the second midterm and final, and they were easy in retrospect. I did poorly because of poor study habits. He gave out one past midterm beforehand, the structure of which he mimicked. I recommend studying all the notes while keeping the question format in mind. I regret not checking the test bank for his past exams. There is a lot of information to take in. In general, he will mention in class things like "This might be on the midterm." I would take him seriously, because they did. He went over each question on the final on the last day of class, which helped tremendously. Also, do not trust the TAs. They said that malic enzyme would not be on the midterm and it was. RIP to those of us in office hours that day.

Extra Credit
On the first day of class, he and Professor Koehler administered a pre-test where attempting it gave us extra credit. We had to watch a seminar and write a one-pager about it. I do not know how much this affected our grades.

Do I need to remember 153A for this?
Not really. It might help, since you go straight into glycoysis and gluconeogenesis, but it is not hard to catch up.

Overall
I enjoyed the class. My grade was the result of poor studying. If you do not like Koehler, that is understandable, but I would still wait it out for Gober.

Dr. Gober is really funny and spontaneous, lol. Sometimes he'll randomly shout a molecule's name if he really likes it. Says a lot of funny and random things during class that help make it engaging.

Material is tough but he explains things well. His section was easier to digest than Dr. Koehler's section, but still difficult so make sure you don't fall behind especially during regulation. And having a good foundation in Dr. Koehler's section (GNG, FA catabolism, AA catabolism/urea cycle) will definitely help you later in Dr. Gober's section since he expands on all of that.

He's also very kind and willing to work with you one on one. Really didn't need the textbook, just make sure you come to lecture and review your notes at the end of each week. Highly recommend recording lectures.

Gober was a good professor, very clear in lecture. However, there are bound to be areas of confusion, as this class was very difficult. Go to Chris Allan's office hours and discussions. The other TA I had was not helpful, but Chris always went to lecture and was definitely one of the best TAs at UCLA. Chris responds to emails for help and is really knowledgeable. Overall, Gober was great and so was his TA

I'm the same guy commenting on 09/25/2012

Here are my thoughts:
1)Again, an humorous guy, I really love his character. He explains stuff really well

2) Don't miss lecture, I missed one and I lost 15 points in my MT2 because of that

3)He curves a lot more generously than most prof (about 30% A w/ avg in the 60s)

4) MT1 &2 both have avg in the 60s. MT2 avg was 69 and he said it was the highest avg he's ever seen in 15 years....be prepared to learn the whole hormone regulation inside out & how each enzyme is regulated (not trivial)

5)I never went to his office hour but I went to both TAs' discussions. You may want to ask him what to/not to study for the exam...he's usually willing to tell you (I guess)

6) Don't bother reading the text, read it ONLY if you don't understand the lecture notes. (I only read little bit about lipoprotein & cholesterol). One good thing is that he doesn't use Voet & Voet anymore(horrible text in my opinion)

7) Final: He'll tell you what exactly will be on the final, so you can focus on studying the right stuff....be prepared to memorize tons of pathways + structures + reaction mechanisms + regulations (hardest part)

Side note:
I got an A in this class luckily! (thanks to the curve). Avoid taking Dr.Clubb for 153B, he's absolutely terrible

You'll probably learn more about biochemistry in this class than in any other class at UCLA. Gober is quite the character, he'll keep you on your toes the whole class through and make you laugh as you go through the intensive lectures. My biggest advice is to listen carefully to the lectures, and bring a voice recorder if you need to! You'll see everyone else doing it, which means you should too! Get a good night's rest before the exams, because there are questions that will require you to think outside the box. Also, go to office hours if possible, sit at the front of class, and enjoy the man's jokes, he's hilarious and a genuinely nice guy! This is biochemistry...so you'll need to take it seriously (don't miss class once!), but don't forget to have fun along the way

***hey everyone
im taking chem 153c right now with gober.
if you have any of his old midterms i will buy them from you or trade you for one you need.
if you are interested please email: *************
Thank you

Dr. Gober was the best biochemistry professor I've had at UCLA. Take his course if you have the chance! He is entertaining every class period, so the 50 minutes fly by. It was a lot of memorization for all of the metabolic pathways, and I definitely put a lot of work and time into studying for this class, but ended up with an A in the course. You'll work hard, but learn a lot about biochemistry, and won't regret taking the class with Gober.

Amazing lectures compared to other biochem professors...there wasn't a lecture I wasn't entertained. The midterms are straightforward as it gets with the pathways and the final as mentioned is a bit conceptual but I believe 40 percent is the average...All that is really needed to supplement your knowledge is reading a little online about hormones and how they interact with all the pathways. It's a pretty straightforward class considering all that there is a significant amount of pathway memorization.