Lawson was probably my favorite professor that I have had at UCLA up to this point. He is incredibly clear even when explaining very in depth topics. This is one of the only classes I have ever taken where I actually wanted to go to lecture because it was so interesting.

Like all biochem classes, the class requires a lot of memorization, but he allows a cheat sheet which makes this much easier. The negative of the cheat sheet, however, is that there are more problem solving style questions rather than just straight memorization. Overall however, if you understand the material, study, and make a good cheat sheet, the exams are very doable.

I definitely would not call this class easy, but if you want to learn a lot take this class with Lawson. I also highly recommend asking him questions during class, right after class, or in office hours, because he is a very smart professor and knows a lot more than just what is on the slides.

Lawson is an excellent lecturer. He is very knowledgeable about the material he is presenting, is happy to re-explain any complicated slides, and often moves to the whiteboard to work through complex ideas. He answers questions clearly and non-judgementally, creating an environment where all questions are welcome.

The exams were quite difficult as they required interpretation of real data and application of the concepts we learned in class. The midterms also had a strict time limit of 50 minutes, which was definitely a time crunch. However, they were also fair and the material on the exam was consistent with lectures and practice exams. In one instance, he confused the class by adding a clarification about a question. When a large percentage of the class answered the question wrong because of this clarification, he removed the question from the test. He also allowed a cheat sheet (one sheet of paper, both sides) for each of the exams.

TLDR: I recommend taking 153B with Lawson, you will learn a lot and you can easily achieve a high grade by studying the material thoroughly.

As someone who had to retake this class, Lawson made this class more enjoyable for me. I took this with Chanfreu last quarter and although he is not a bad professor himself, but it is harder to understand with his accent. With Lawson, I felt like I was able to understand as he was talking and he made sure his students understood the material. Although I did get a C in the class, I will say that the midterms (avg high 70s) and finals (avg 70%) were pretty fair, and felt like I could have gotten a B if I just made additional effort. The grade breakdown is

midterm 20 (which ever midterm you score higher counts for 20% while the lower counts for 10%)
midterm 10
final 40
homework 10
attendance 10
discussion 10
1% ec for evaluation

The overall class grade is built scaled-down meaning from 63-65% in my case was a flat C and 60-62 is like a C- which is pretty nice. Overall, I enjoyed this class even though I hate biochem and I learned some pretty interesting topics in regards to all of the central dogma.

I was kinda nervous taking a Biochem class with a new professor but honestly Lawson is great. He's a super clear and organized lecturer and is always willing to answer questions or reexplain himself if something doesn't make sense. That being said, the exams are pretty challenging. You have to be able to apply the knowledge you learned and interpret real data. Plus we only had 50 minutes to do a 5 page exam, which was ummmm. However, the during the weekly tutorial sessions he provided plenty of practice exam questions, so we never went in blind. Honestly, if you're taking 153B def take it with Lawson. he's a g

Coming from 153A with Lannan, I was hesitant about having to take another biochem class. Professor Lawson is one of the best lecturers and professors I have had at this school. He is incredibly invested and interested in the content that he is teaching. He really cares about his students and would put iClickers up just to ask for feedback on his pacing and after receiving the results he slowed down his content. He has a tutorial section once a week where he provides old tests and helps you work through them. The workload for this class is incredibly light, there is just a single problem you have to do each week before the discussion section. The tests were difficult but I felt decently prepared for them after studying his lectures and the extra material he provides (MT2 average was 78%). Lawson also has a very forgiving grading scale which is: A+ 97-100, A 90-97, A- 85-89. Cliff notes: Lawson is a caring professor who is also very good at lecturing and is incredibly knowledgable. If you put in time to study before the tests you will do just fine in the class and will end up enjoying it too.