Review posted on Thu 01 Apr 2010
Course(s) Taken: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics: 102

For my four years at UCLA, I have not once volunteered to write an evaluation for my professors. This professor, who I genuinely admire and respect, was an exception. It was at least what I can do to show some respect for the person who truly deserve it.

First, you may or may not know, depending on your familiarity in the field of virology. But he is an alumnus of the prestigious Baltimore (Nobel laureate) lab. For one, he discovered the internal ribosome entry site (IRES) during his career in picornavirus virus research. With that said, you can assume that he is one of the best in his field, and you will definitely notice that once you take his class.

Besides his being an exceptional researcher, he is an absolutely amazing human being. He is humble and always brings smile to your face when you talk to him. Not only is he friendly, but he genuinely cares about students and their learning. He would help you by any means if you tell him or if you appear to struggle with the course. He may not change your grades as some others would have hoped (some probably mistakenly assumed he would easily raise points for students due to his approachable personality), but instead, he will make sure you are ready for the next exam. I would cease commenting on his personality, because my poorly attempting to describe it would do injustice to who he really is. At least once, go to his office hour and talk to him in person, and you would immediately know what I mean.

I recommend this class to all bio majors. You will most likely find the class so engaging and interesting because of his enthusiasm for animal viruses. His lectures are easy to follow, often accompanied by his funny jokes. Exams are very straight forward, and there are NO trick questions--rather, questions solely based on how well you mastered the material. For those who do not have solid background in molecular biology, review the techniques beforehand, attend office hour, and ask him questions to clarify because there are a decent number of experimental questions.

At the end of the course, you will end up with interest in virology, admiration for this professor, a decent grade, and gratitude for having taken the course during your undergraduate career at UCLA.

***for those who are STILL concerned about grades,
only the top 15% were awarded A's (that includes A+, A, and A-), the next 52% into the B range (B+, B and B-).
This is a generous curve.
A+: 95%
A : 89%
A- : 86.8%
B+: 84.5%
B : 76%
B- : 72.4%
C+: 67%
C : 60.1%
C- : 55.6%
D : 44%
F : below 44% or no final

Review posted on Fri 12 Mar 2010
Course(s) Taken: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics: 102

Great professor. Test are not tricky. But make sure when naming stuff to write the entire name because TA's will not give partial credit for half of the name. But overall a good, fun and interesting class. Dasgupta is so into what he teaches and hes really funny also. Studying lecture notes and powerpoint presentation is sufficient, dont waste your money on the textbook. I only opened that sucker once.

Review posted on Mon 08 Mar 2010
Course(s) Taken: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics: 102

ohh gosh. Easily the nicest, most amusing professor I've ever had. Often times, I'd be sitting in my room listening to the podcast just to burst out laughing at something Dr. Dasgupta said. His accent is hard to understand a lot of the times and when you're talking about genes and protein names or what not, there's a lot of numbers and letters involved. Sometimes I'd catch him saying D when it should have been C or something. Honestly, it can really fuck up the whole "understanding the concept" thing but if you nag him at the beginning of the quarter, he will agree to podcast, making it a lot easier to understand his lectures. He's totally awesome, I loved his class, not the subject really, but this man really has a passion for teaching. He even told us he loved us! HAHA. I'm gonna miss him tremendously...

Review posted on Mon 08 Mar 2010
Course(s) Taken: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics: 102

Professor Dasgupta is an amazing professor. He makes viruses extremely interesting and exciting to learn about. He's approachable and concerned about the learning of his students as well. His exams are fair and he makes class enjoyable. If you have the chance, I highly recommend that you take this class - hands down.

Review posted on Mon 31 Mar 2008
Course(s) Taken: 102

Dr. Dasgupta is indeed a great professor. He goes through materials so thoroughly in class that for his part, you don't need to go to discussions. He, like Feldman, is very helpful in office hours...and definitely more direct in telling you what to study. Definitely recommend.

Review posted on Mon 02 Apr 2007
Course(s) Taken: None

He is very nice and interesting lecturer and pleasure to have as an instructor! I loved his part of the class in 102, but be aware, Dr. Feldman is his polar opposite, and he teaches half of the class.

Review posted on Mon 17 Apr 2006
Course(s) Taken: None

Wow... just wow. He is one of the absolute best professors I've ever had! He explains things so clearly; he gets fired up and passionate about viruses that his lectures are stimulating and keep you awake. He's funny and friendly and most importantly he has so much faith in our ability as students to do well in the course... really inspiring! That sort of positive attitude is just not something you find in every professor!

Review posted on Tue 19 Jul 2005
Course(s) Taken: 102

Dr. Dasgupta is one of the best professors I have had at UCLA and also one of the nicest. Extremely approachable, very concerned about his students. The class was also very interesting, well if you're interested in viruses and various molecular mechanism's for hijacking the host cell's machinery. He held reviews where he covered all the important material. His reader was exactly like his slides and explained the slides in more detail. But once again, I can't stress how nice a man Dr. Dasgupta was, I highly recommend this course to any MIMG major or anyone interested in learning about viruses.

Review posted on Thu 24 Mar 2005
Course(s) Taken: 102

He is by far one of the most approachable professors I have ever met. Especially considering the caliber of professors in the MIMG department (I'm sure theyre brilliant but they definitely can't teach). Dasgupta is funny, bright, and he also knows how to get his point across. He tells you exactly what you need to know for the exam. I highly recommend him. He makes half of 102, very entertaining.

Review posted on Tue 22 Apr 2003
Course(s) Taken: 102

He's a great professor! He knows what it's like to be a struggling premed student as he revealed he attended med school for 3 years and decided to leave to research viruses...
He's a very respectable professor, teaches well, and his passion radiates through. His exam was extremely fair. He wanted to know that you learned the material rather than try to question your intelligence by making a crazy hard exam like Feldman did.
I highly recommend taking him. The only downside to that is you'd have to take the course with the other half being taught by someone like Feldman.