I took this class during the summer of 2023, and I would highly recommend it! Dr. Esdin is an amazing professor who tries to make the material as easy to understand as possible. He never rushed through the material, even if we were running out of time. If we don't finish the material required for that day, he would just post some prerecorded lectures on the remaining material. He made sure to give us a break during class, and was always willing to answer any questions you had about the class/material during or after class. For lab, I had Ingrid as my TA, and she was one of the best TAs that I've had at UCLA. She is very nice, and makes lab as easy and straightforward as possible. During lab, we were often asked if we wanted breaks throughout, especially when lab was right after lecture. Both Dr. Esdin and Ingrid were amazing people who wanted their students to succeed!

During lecture, we never stayed the full three hours. Dr. Esdin lectures for an hour, gives a 10ish minute break, followed by another 45min to 1hr lecture. Labs were straightforward with most of them being online simulations through PhysioEX. We never stayed the full six hours during lab, and instead only stayed around two or three hours.

The class grade was comprised of 2 exams (midterm & final), 2 in class quizzes, weekly lab quizzes, lab uploads, and lab write-ups. The lab quizzes were very easy, and it was not difficult to do well as long as you did the online labs. The lab uploads were just PDF uploads of the PhysioEX labs that show that you finished the required exercises. They are graded on completion. The lab write-ups were just a series of questions about that week's PhysioEX and/or in class lab exercises. These were not very difficult, however, some of them, especially the last one, were kind of tedious but not bad overall. The in class quizzes were 12-13 questions that were based on lecture material from a specific chapter that Dr. Esdin will decide on. These quizzes were specific, and detail oriented, so you need to have a very good understanding of the chapter to do well on them. Finally, the midterm and final exam. They were a mix of short answer, fill in the blank, T/F, and multiple choice. These weren't as specific as the quizzes, but there were occasional trick questions on both. The midterm and final are both very fair as long as you studied and understood the material well.

This class was definitely one of the easier 6 unit classes that I've taken here at UCLA (keep in mind that this was the only class I took during C session). If you can keep up with the material and study a little bit every day, you should be able to get a good grade in the class. I would highly recommend it for those interested in the body systems or those who need it for graduate/professional school, especially those who are pre-veterinary students!

Dr. Esdin and the TA Ingrid Cely were amazing! I took this class along with another lab class while I was working, and I found it all to be very manageable.

Lecture:
To start with the actual course content, it was definitely not easy, but not too hard at all -- the key is to study the material after every lecture!! You'll fall behind quickly if you don't. Attendance was mandatory which wasn't a problem because it helps keep you accountable for the material. Although MyUCLA gives a longer time period for lecture, Dr. Esdin broke it down into two 50-minute sections with a 10 minute break in between. I found this to be the perfect amount of time to focus and a manageable amount of course content per day.

Exams/quizzes:
There are two exams that are both midterms. I found the first to be easier than the second content-wise, but the grading is very fair as long as you study! I definitely recommend creating study groups because it makes a difference. Also use Anki :) The quizzes were very straightforward just like the exams, and they were helpful because then you had one less topic to study for the actual exams. Also, the study guides that Professor Esdin posted before exams were really helpful.

Lab:
The lab section never lasts as long as it says on MyUCLA. It consisted of a prepared course material slideshow, potentially a lab activity, and then online lab simulations. Ingrid, the TA, was always very prepared and knew the content really well. I had the lab after lecture, so it was definitely a lot to have both on the same day, but Ingrid is kind, helpful, and fun so that made a big difference. Homework consisted of finishing the lab activities and doing a write-up based off of them. I found the lab activities to be only a little helpful, but the write-ups were really nice to have.

Overall:
This was one of my favorite classes taken at UCLA. Even if you're not particularly interested in the material, Dr. Esdin and Ingrid are both helpful, funny, and clearly care about the students. I highly recommend the course!!

I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this class nearly as much as I did. I didn’t learn 7C content very well the first time around so I was initially a little intimated, but with the structure of the course, well prepared lectures, the Professor, and TA, it was a super great experience where I was able to genuinely learn really well. The class is a lot of work and goes by quickly, but if you make a point to stay on it, it is doable (for reverence I took another class + worked part time and still did okay). Dr. Esdin was a fantastic professor. You could tell how passionate he was about the course, he always made the lectures interesting, and was very considerate as he made sure he wasn’t excessively overwhelming us with content. Since it was a lot of content, he also helped guide us in the right direction before exams which was very helpful. The TA, Ingrid Cely, was also so incredible and was always extremely willing to help in anyway to help you understand the content better. She prepared the lab sections super well and it helped solidify lecture content too.

I just took this course this summer and would highly recommend it. Professor Esdin is a great professor and just a great guy. He is really passionate about the material and really cares about his students. The material is not easy so you will have to put the work in, but that is what you are signing up for. Also, don't be intimidated by the long lab because it ends very early and is mostly online!

Professor Esdin is a good lecturer I won't lie and this class wasn't the worse considering it was a 6 unit course with a LONG lab section but it was sometimes annoying. The good thing about this class was that it was a review of LS7C since it was mainly the physiology of mammals but there is a LOT of material you'd have to deal with. It's not abruptly hard but it did get pretty tedious to study. Definitely a nice upperdiv elective to take if you need it for science but be aware the units will make/break your GPA a little bit. You can definitely get an A, but you'll have to put in a decent amount of work so I would suggest taking this class by itself during the summer. Lectures were alright and straightforward but lab/lecture quizzes and the exams were sometimes over complicated as there was no need for it to be tricky. For Summer 2021, he made the exams worth much more little but the quizzes were worth SO MUCH of your grade, considering there was barely any questions, as it was all multiple choice. Regardless, you can do well, you just have to read really carefully and know everything. Otherwise, the work was a good chunk since it's 6 units but it wasn't very difficult to do. Also, shoutout to Ingrid (Cely) for being a very dope TA, get her if you can as a TA!! Here are my stats and the grading scale as it was on a point system, not percent:

- Lecture Participation (Quizzes each video): 45 / 45
- Lab Attendance and Participation: 20 / 20
- Lab Quizzes (total): 64.25 / 70 (5 quizzes & 14 pts each)
- Lab Write-Up Reports: 66 / 66 (6 reports weekly & 11 pts each)
- Lecture Quizzes (total): 121.88 / 125 (5 quizzes & 25 pts each... super high stake)
- Course Evals: 6 / 6
- Midterm Exam: 43.33 / 50
- Final Exam: 42 / 50
TOTAL & Grade: 408.46 / 432 = 94.6% (A)

Have the course reader and textbook for PHYSCI 166. Email me at *************

Course Reader was for the Summer 2016 class

Book is Animal Physiology 3rd Edition Hill/Wyse (may or may not be available.

Amazing professor although I didn't do so well. He is very clear, and seemed like he truly wanted all his students to succeed.