Professor Lannan is a really good, engaging lecturer who is super familiar with the course content (I think a lot of the bad reviews are from when he just started teaching and was a little more disorganized, but now he really knows his stuff). Even if I fell asleep during a lecture, the recordings and slides themselves would always be very clear. His quizzes are memorization-based so using Anki/quizlet flashcards was the easiest way to study for them, and I think all of the exams were very fair (he covered all the content in his slides or during lecture). He also gives extra credit on the tests (I think like 3 points on each midterm and 6 points for the final?) -- overall, I enjoyed this class and I think the main tough part is just the sheer amount of material that you have to know or memorize by the end. The learning objectives help a lot with managing the information though! Also, attendance is tracked using clickers but ****they are not location-based****.

Obviously, this class was still kinda hard but I feel like it was definitely better than ochem for me as the professor is probs the best biochem professor! I would def recommend you take with him over anyone else if you want to understand biochem and do well in the class. He gives a lot of partial credit for his tests which is how I ended up with an A. I feel like this class was definitely manageable as the wasn't even that much homework (only one a week) or anything. I took with 3 other classes and still did well, so u should def sign up for this class! One thing to note though is that he does use iClickers but he allowed us to go to the other lecture if our lecture didn't work for us. Also, discussion is mandatory so make sure you pick a time that works for you. The TAs kinda suck for this class LOL and the prof's office hours are always filled so that kinda sucks i guess, and homework does count for correctness but if u take this class with a friend you'll be good. Also, the prof is FINNEEEE

This class is honestly love. I have never loved a class so much. I was truly distraught on the last day of lecture and in tears. Please take biochem with Dr. Lannan because you will begin to enjoy biochem so much and be able to connect it with other STEM classes. However, beware that before coming into this class you need to realize that in order to do well, you have to spend ample amount of time studying and doing practice problems for this class. Take this class with 2 other easy classes and you should be able to do to fairly well. Do not fall behind because that is just going to ruin so much for you. Go to lecture and actively listen and participate and soon you will realize how interesting the content is and how funny Dr. Lannan is. Make sure you understand everything on the homework and be able to do the practice exam questions. Give yourself ample time to study for exams and don’t wait till last minute like me. Regarding the professor, honestly, everyone loves this class because of how Dr. Lannan teaches it and I am sure I wouldn’t have done well if I weren’t taking it with him. He is actually listens to you and doesn’t belittle you if you don’t know something. This is a super rare trait in professors at UCLA.

Loved this class, hated the premeds. As a chem major, I was dreading this class because I hate biology, but Lannnan made it incredibly enjoyable because he is a great lecturer, and the class was pretty easy. The averages are super high (153a normal averages used to be 50s and 60s) AND he gives a ton of extra credit. Highly recommend this class for 153a, won't get a better experience.

Lannan was an amazing Biochem professor. Biochemistry is a tough subject and the professors are not known to be that good. Lannan is the exception, and he's pretty new so he'll only improve each quarter. Here's a breakdown of his class:

- Participation through iClicker and Discussion (6%), Quizzes (10%), Weekly Homework Assignments (14%), 2 midterms (20% each), Final (30%)
- He uses Bruincast and you don't have to be in the lecture hall to do iClicker
- Discussions are very helpful. They go over homework problems, so you're basically doing part of your homework there.
- Quizzes are strict memorization and pretty easy. There are 5 over the course of the quarter. You can drop your lowest quiz
- Weekly homework assignments are tedious, but easy. They're great preparation for the actual test questions and he only grades like 2 or 3 questions on correctness. The rest he gives full credit for as long as you submit it.
- Midterms are NOT during class time, but rather at night. You're given an hour and a half, but you can probably finish within the hour. He gives a couple extra credit points on each test, too!
- Overall, as long as you keep up in lecture and do some basic memorization, this class will be easy. Lannan is very helpful and responsive.

He also gives 0.25% grade boost for doing LA and Professor feedback forms.
He has a 1.25% Extra Credit group project in week 10, too, where you use your biochem knowledge to create your own organism.
Would definitely recommend him to take your Biochem requirement.

This class is hard. That is undeniable. However, I would say he has made a lot of improvement since the course he taught last winter. Though the exams are difficult, there are no curveballs thrown when it comes to questions; all of the information is on the slides or was mentioned during lecture. If there is something that the students felt was unfair, then he takes that into consideration when grading. This is a class that you have to be 100% all in for because it is a lot of information (4 lectures a week). That being said, he helps out a LOT wherever he can. He offered a ton of extra office hours and had a lot of leniency during the TA strike. He offers a good amount of extra credit as well. Of course, that doesn't mean everyone will get an A. The effort you put in will show in the end.

As a person overall, he is amazing. You can tell he is someone who cares about the students and cares about getting people the best grades possible. My schedule this quarter was rough and it was also my first one since I am a transfer so I didn't have a lot to look forward to. If I am being honest, the only thing I looked forward to was this class. It was the only class where I didn't have a grudge against my professor and where I actually liked the material being taught. I nearly wanted to change my major but I realized that the only reason I would consider biochemistry is if he taught the other courses. He is super relatable as a person and quickly became one of my favorite professors. Definitely take him.

Lannan is a great professor. You could tell that he actually cared about us and he was great at accommodating us. He literally has multiple office hours a week and the week before the exam he had at least five office hours. He is actually really funny and relatable once you get to know him, and once you get used to his style of teaching his class is very straightforward. Tests were fair imo, and the quizzes are very straightforward - just memorization. There are no discussion worksheets, and most of the homework were graded on completion. Please take him if you can! This class made me want to change my major. I loved it so much and I was shedding tears once it was over.

I would not take this class with him again

On the Thursday of week 10, he not only did not post the final study guide, but also sent out the last homework at about 9:00 pm. Why?
Remember to write exactly the same words from his slides and homework answers, otherwise you will not get the point in the midterms and the final.
He said it was his first time teaching this course, so it took him lots of hours to gather the information and made the slides, so his lectures are a little bit disorganized. Guess what, it is also my first time taking this class, and that was definitely not a good experience to me.
Also, tons of homework. The first several homework were like 9-page short, no, long answer, questions. He would ask you to draw the whole mechanism of RNase and chymotrypsin. Very good! Moreover, he is like "You don't have to remember everything in the mechanism, but if we give you one step, you should be able to predict the next step." How is that not memorizing all the mechanisms?

我上这节课的唯一原因是一开始153A是一开始study list上显示这节课是Deborah Jarrett教 我听说她教的不错，所以选了这个课 谁知道真正开学之前换成了Ryan Lannan

事儿很多 不会选他的别的课了

Lannan wasn’t the best professor, especially in the beginning, but if there was a “Most Improved” professor award he would easily win it. He just got thrown into a difficult situation teaching the class for the first time on really short notice, and it showed in the beginning. However, he always ended up addressing his mistakes and the lecture quality was actually really high. The class is just really hard and many people are upset about the fact that they had to memorize things when last year everything was online so you could just use a cheat sheet. Were there issues with grading? Yes, but he literally just gave out free points and people still complained. Most of the mistakes were due to the TAs anyway, who were far more disorganized and lazy than Lannan (they promised to finish grading and ended up delaying multiple times), who ended up taking all of the blame. He’s actually a really funny and engaging lecturer who I would take the class with again. Don’t listen to the reviews that say he’s terrible and disorganized and hates all his students, he just didn’t know how to manage everything and got it figured out. Everyone just wanted Jarrett because she gives easy tests that won’t prepare you for the MCAT at all, but you’ll get that A+ because you don’t have to memorize anything!

I really enjoyed taking this class with Dr. Lannan and I would recommend him to anyone who wants to 153A. It was his first quarter teaching the class and he got assigned very last minute, so he did not have time to prepare slides, tests and everything like that.

Here is the breakdown of points:
Midterm 1: 20%
Midterm 2: 20%
Quizzes: 10%
Homework: 15%
Final Exam: 35%
Extra credit: 2% (campuswire =0.5%, evals = 0.25%, ec project = 1.25%)

He gave around 3% of extra credit problems on tests and these were all just free points. He ended up curving the final 6%. His tests are very fair and reflect the hw problems and are all pulled from the topics on the study guide. This class does have a lot of memorization, but that is the nature of 153A. If you stay on top of it and review his slides, you will do well in the course.

I thought Dr. Lannan was a great lecturer who was truly fair. He is clearly very knowledgable on the topic and I thought he did a fantastic job and I think he will only get better over time. Dr. Lannan is fairly understanding and communicates well.

Also - he offers this online textbook with practice problems called Achieve. I did not purchase it and I was completely fine. He never references the textbook and gives sufficient practice problems with the homework. If you like extra help, it may be for you, but I wouldn't purchase it until after week 1 when you know how the class works a little better.

Overall would take again and I highly recommend Lannan!