Overall:
Would never take another class with him again and would advise others to do the same.
Easiness:
Hardest class I have taken at UCLA. I constantly had to study for this class and barely pulled off an A-.
Workload:
Groups are randomly assigned and you have to work with them on all quizzes and half the midterm. It’s obvious that everyone burns out towards the end of class, so it’s common that only one group member works on the work at the end.
Clarity:
The worst part about this class. Slide shows are all over the place. The professor’s accent is very thick (he is French) and lectures need to be rewatched very slowly to write everything down. Questions on tests are often unclear and the grading rubric expects things that were not even asked of. Oh yeah, tests are entirely free response.
Helpfulness:
I went to office hours several times. He answered my questions sometimes, but other times it felt like he expected me to already know it. How am I supposed to know the experimental method for every figure in the research papers we have to read? That’s why I’m asking you!

I felt like I learned nothing in this class. Lectures consisted of Prunet talking about random concepts like TIRF microscopy or peroxisomes. He used slides, but he said a lot of things that were not present. The problem with that was his accent was impossible to understand. I tried to rewatch his lecture videos at 0.5 speed but still had trouble understanding. In discussion, a TA would talk about a long research paper in one hour. It was bad. Like how is the TA supposed to go over a really long paper in one hour while properly explaining everything? When I tried asking him questions about the figures and experimental setup, he would often times not help. He expected me to already know many abstract concepts (for example, he expected us to know how to read ATPase activity levels on a graph without ever going over it). The exams asked questions mostly on the research papers. The questions were really hard. He is very inflexible regarding regrade requests and is just not a good professor. Avoid him!

I really enjoyed this class and felt that the professor was very accommodating. Lectures were recorded this quarter which I really liked as it allowed me to go back to repeat any material that I may have missed in class. The most difficult part about this class were the papers, but as long as you read them and pay close attention during discussion + attend office hours if needed you should be fine. There is some group work but it isn't too much.
Professor Prunet is also good at explaining the material. As of Fall 2021, exams were open note and had a collaborative component which was very helpful but I'm not sure if he is planning on continuing that. The exams were very fair and in my opinion very doable as long as you paid attention during lecture and understood the papers. Class is not super memorization-based which is nice but if exams are moved in person I expect that memorizing details will become more important. Overall I would really recommend this class and am glad I took it with this professor!