CHEM 4410

Professor Grisham is a very nice man who is very approachable and knowledgeable. That being said, this class is not for the weak. Grade wise, your grade is made up of 3 exams, 6 pop quizzes and a final project called PSAFE. PSAFE seems like a big project (and it is), it I think it was very manageable and should be easy point. There are bigger assignments, but there are several opportunities for extra credit, and the biggest issue you might run into is the software being a bit buggy.

For exams, it sucks because I found the content of the exam very interesting, but his exams sometimes don't feel like they test your knowledge. There will be big questions that he says to work on in class like "be sure to do XYZ as it will be 20 points on your exam," but other times he will give example (cool examples) but there are so many examples that have so much nuance and it can be hard to remember and keep track of everything. Other times, he will explicitly tell you to study something because it will be on the exam and then it will not be on the exam at all. Grisham wrote the textbook, and all his lectures are derived from the textbook. I would personally recommend going to lecture first and figuring out what in the textbook you should know, and then going in after the fact to skim the textbook and relearn any concepts you might have missed in class.

He will end up curving the class a lot. The averages for our exams were around the 50s and 60s. A general rule is 1) try to stay around the average or slightly above it or 2) try to show improvements with the exams. Grisham curves the class a lot, and if you can do either of these things you should be good to go. He does not want to fail you. He just wants you to learn about biochemistry. Good luck !!

#tCFF23

I think Professor Grisham is a very nice, approachable man. He's always happy to answer students' questions during and after class. That being said, no other class at UVA has ever made me feel as stupid as I felt taking this one lol. There were three exams, each worth 23% of your grade. The PSAFE project is worth another 23%. The PSAFE project isn't too bad, just make sure to ask the TAs if you have any questions at all. There are also extra credit opportunities to help make up any lost points on PSAFE stuff. It's a pretty rewarding experience at the end. The remaining 8% comes from pop quizzes. In retrospect, the pop quizzes weren't all that difficult, but the average scores are so low (~6/10) because it's hard to keep up with all the reading and lecture content. There was at least one quiz where it was just a problem from the back of the textbook chapter. The textbook chapters are very long and dense; it would take me hours to get through a single one. My advice would be to at least skim the textbook ahead of lecture. During lecture, Grisham doesn't say much that isn't already on the slides, but you should still go to class and pay attention because he'll specifically tell you what might be on the exam and what he definitely will not be covering.

Grisham provides a list of recommended practice problems. To study for the exams, I did as many of them as I could. I didn't really read the textbook since there was so much on the slides already. I just tried to commit the structures on the slides to memory with as much detail as possible. It will be hard no matter what honestly. The exams aren't explicitly cumulative, but both the 2nd and 3rd exams had at least one 10-point problem that required knowledge from the previous exam(s).

This class was a major source of stress for me because Grisham never specified what the curve at the end would look like so I had no idea what my final grade would be. In the end, my final grade came out to slightly under 80%, but I got an A, so yes, that curve was BIG.

#tCFfall22

He literally said if you spend about 9 hours per week you'll get somewhere around C. To be honest, PSAFE is much better than the exams (at least for me). It's basically getting an assigned protein at the beginning of the semester and you'll be working on this project of writing a paper and creating slides explaining its structure and functions. My assigned paper is kinda interesting so I really like this project, and it won't take lots of your time. And the TAs are really helpful!! Other than that, definitely go to Grisham's office hours and study the problems, it would help a lot on the quizzes. For the exam, the average is often 50-ish, but seems like he will curve. Looking at this score is just too awful. So all I can say is good luck. And don't take PChem and Biochem at the same time. You'll be so screwed.

Some of these reviews are ruthless! Professor Grisham is one of the nicest profs out there, especially if you get to know him well. Exams are tough, but don't worry, he curves and especially looks for improvement on exams when assigning final grades. Go to office hours as he takes note of the students who come. He's quite approachable, I think the reason a lot of these reviews about him being rude are surfacing is simply because he is of a different generation and isn't "hip with the kids" so to speak, so you just have to understand that he means well and is trying very hard to make the class enjoyable. Beware the pop quizzes, and don't let them catch you off guard but take them as a learning opportunity!

Professor Grisham's class is required for biochemistry majors. That being said, if you can find any way around taking this class, do yourself a favor and do not take it. Professor Grisham's exams are aimed at making students fail. He does not enjoy when students do well in his class because this is a sign that he is not making the course "challenging" enough for you. In addition, Grisham has one of those classes where if you want pretty good grade you have to attend office hours. He will go over specific material that will appear on the exam during office hours and you have to go or watch the recordings if you want to know this. Even if you go to office hours and every class there will be questions on the exam that you were not prepared for. This is intentional. Do not let it discourage you because no one else probably knows the answer either. Exam averages were in the 50s-60s and Grisham will send out rude emails about these averages after the exams. He sends these out every year. Ignore them. Do not fall for the kind old man persona that he tries to put on. Grisham wants your college experience to be centered around his class. Also the PSAFE assignment is the least helpful, most time consuming waste of time you will ever experience in any class but you also have to go to office hours for this and do your best because it is a big portion of the grade. I would give this class a 2/5 only because everyone suffers together but it was one of the worst major-required courses I took at UVA.

I really enjoyed this class with Professor Grisham! This course is all about the four types of biomolecules (carbs, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids) and enzyme kinetics. I learned a lot of really useful information, and Grisham's little stories are really fun. He's a really sweet old man and his lectures are sometimes a bit tough to get through b/c they're 75 minutes, but usually enjoyable. Highly highly recommend going to OH as much as you can - getting him to know you will help you out and he drops strong hints about exam questions often. He also explains how to do some of the peptide sequencing and titration problems in a way that makes them easy to understand.

There are three exams and no final, but a project about a protein you get assigned at the beginning of the semester. You work on this PSAFE project all semester, and it sucks, but go to the PSAFE TA's office hours and you'll probably be fine. It's a great grade boost and it's easy to get 95-100 on it to make up your exam grades. The three exams are non-cumulative and typically involve a lot of memorization plus some problems about titrations/peptide sequencing, or bioenergetics. Bioenergetics is important and tricky, so do a lot of practice with this before exams. In addition, Anki will be your friend in this course; use his lecture notes and slides to make flashcards and drill them like crazy. Learn all the structures that he tells you to memorize and you'll be fine on the exam. I learned structures, how to do the various types of problems, and drilled flashcards and consistently scored 20-30% above the average on the exams (avg is usually in the 60s). There will be random questions about stuff you won't know during the exam but they're only a couple points so don't stress about them. Also, make study group - it'll save your ass.

Overall, great but tough class, sweet professor, reasonable if you study well. PSAFE sucks but it's a grade boost. Good luck!

Everyone on here has basically covered everything, but I'll leave you with what I wish I knew before going into this course:
-This course is bad, but like not as bad as you think it will be... I think??? That being said, if you are prehealth take CHEM 4450 or BIOL 3030 to satisfy the biochemistry requirement instead because this class requires a lot more work and time.
-Pick your poison and stick with it, so either read the textbook or memorize the lecture slides, don't do both it wastes time you could spend studying and doing practice problems (I did slides).
-The exams are a race against time because of the number of topics he tests on so knowing everything well and practicing will definitely give you more time and will get you a score above the average.
-Grisham is an absolute sweetheart!!! I get really intimidated talking to professors, but Professor Grisham is very kind and he will answer any and all questions that he can get to at office hours so don't be afraid to speak up.
-psafe depends entirely on the TAs preferences, so make sure to go to their office hours and show them your work.
Overall I did at least 10 points above average on each exam but got a pretty poor score on psafe and I still managed to get an A. YOU GOT THIS!!!

I was very nervous coming into this course based on the wide variety of reviews for Grisham, but tbh it was not nearly as bad as people made it out to be. Grisham is an excellent and entertaining lecturer. The quizzes were pop quizzes but were relatively easy if you kept up with the reading (which I only did about 60% of the time). The exams were difficult but mirrored practice problems and quiz problems. PSAFE was fun, easy, and your biggest grade saver imo. My exam average was a 35/100 and quizzes a 5/10, but I got a 100 in PSAFE. Admittedly, I spent way less time on this class than orgo but still, I ended with a B.

If you are taking this class make sure you make this class your priority. You have to be on the top of reading because you never know when you come across a pop quiz. Read the text book thoroughly and understand each figure in the textbook. Most of the times, Grisham will tell you what you have to know for the exam and make sure you write it down and practice that stuff again and again. Go to his office hours because he gives clues about the questions on the exam. Give this class 20+ hours a week, go to the TA's because they are very helpful. Never procrastinate on PSAFE because PSAFE is money. Do above averages on all of the exams and get a good grade on PSAFE and you will end up with an A because the curve in the end is very BIG.

Before starting this course, I had heard so many terrifying things about this course. However, after taking this course I realized that it was really what you put into it and how you study. 1.) Focus on re-watching the recorded lectures over reading the chapters. In watching the recorded lectures again, highlight what he mentions will be on the exam and know the material like the back of your hand because it will show up on the exam either futures exams or the current one. Also memorize what he tells you to memorize. It saves time on the exam and comes in handy. 2.) Practice the homework questions. This is particularly helpful as many of the questions on the exam are like the homework (particularly the ones he emphasizes). 3.) Focus your studying on human conditions/diseases mentioned in the pptx and the textbook because those will show up again. Also don't focus on the exam grade. Trust the process and the curve :) Good luck!

This is the best professor, I've ever had! He is so gracious and understanding. He will help you pass so long as you want to pass. Do not skip class and stay on top of your notes. Go to office hours and ask for help when you don't understand and I ensure you will at least get a B in the class.

If you take this class, be prepared for your life to revolve around biochemistry for an entire semester. Grisham is pretty clear about his expectations for the class (the syllabus says, "Three hours of study out of class per course credit per week will be likely to earn you a C for this course"). Do not take that lightly. There are three exams in the semester, each one averages 50-60% (but don't let that scare you because there is a big curve at the end).
For the exams, you do pretty much have to know the textbook inside and out, but most important are the practice problems at the end of the chapter. There were always a few questions on the exams that made you kind of just stare blankly at the screen if you didn't memorize the textbook, but the good portion of the exam was manageable. In lecture, Grisham will be pretty clear about what will be on the exams, so make sure to do the problems he mentions multiple times and engrain anything he mentions will be on the exam into your brain. If you don't do the practice problems over and over, don't expect to be on average for the exams.
In regards to PSAFE, I never procrastinated on the assignments and it saved my mental well-being. One of the PSAFE assignments was quite literally due a few hours after one of our exams. I personally thought the PSAFE was kind of fun and an interesting aspect of the class (as well as a major grade saver - it's 20% of your grade and if you put in the effort, you'll get an A on it). But when the TA tells you not to do it last minute, do not do it last minute.
Grisham loves to mention how much his class prepares you for the MCAT, and after taking it, my practice test scores did rise by several points, so even if his class is kicking your butt, just know that it really will help you in the long run.
Overall, Grisham truly loves teaching and wants all his students to succeed. For anyone who gets imposter syndrome in their stem classes like I do, I rarely felt that in this class and felt like I truly belonged to be there. But you do get out of it what you put into it.

On the syllabus Grisham explicitly says you will need to devote 9 hours a week to this class for a B. For every exam in this class I essentially neglected all of my other classes for about a week before the exam to study. Average on the first exam was 51%. Take from that what you will. I somehow managed an above-average grade in this course so my advice is:
-Grisham recommends to "draw every structure/mechanism/etc in the book" when you take notes. Be smart with your time! Focus on the ones he highlights in lecture and if you're not sure, email him or go to office hours.
-He drops a million hints about what will be on every exam. Keep track and know those subjects incredibly well.
-Memorize the amino acids early bc it will help you a lot.
-Do the practice problems he recommends for every chapter. You will fail every exam if you only study the content in the chapters and don't do the questions.
-Do PSAFE early in the week. They will schedule exams and huge PSAFE projects within 24 hours of each other & it's cruel.

Grisham says this class is great to prep for MCAT...I'm not pre-med so I can't really speak for that. He curves generously at the end & if you're worried about your grade after an exam, he would love to talk to you over email or in person. Genuinely nice guy but killer course.

Course: informative course, but only in the sense that most of the learning is self-motivated. Reading the textbook and going through the powerpoint slides are helpful for the sake of knowledge. The lectures are tangential. Grisham is a good speaker, but he's just reading off the slides. >95% chance you'll fall behind the syllabus throughout the semester and have to either skip intended chapters or cram them all in for superficial learning near the end of the semester. Tests are ridiculous: does not test material directly, but makes you apply the knowledge in roundabout ways. Aka this is the scenario for a lot of students: you study a lot, do a bunch of practice problems, and know the material forward and backward but still test badly. Success mostly depends on your critical thinking abilities and test taking skills (or even luck tbh), which probably were already set before you entered this course or generally out of your control in the few months you're enrolled in this course. You'll definitely learn if you do the work, but your grade might not reflect that. Don't freak out, there's still a curve in the end (upward trend helps).
Professor: as a person, possibly the worst tenured professor at UVA, and I truly truly promise I'm not exaggerating. I know this from personal experiences that I won't delve into. Tldr this man ruined my mental health and I had to get counseling--not his course, but him.. so that's saying something, and I'm too scared to this day to report it. I didn't believe it when people from previous years said he seemed nice at first, but is actually rude, untruthful, and egotistical, but this is exactly the case. He makes himself out to be a nice guy who knows a lot about biochemistry (the biochemistry part I cannot dispute), but in reality he's extremely misogynistic (he has a powerpoint slide titled "When NO means YES" for something about nitric oxide as some cruel joke), racist, a liar, judgmental, and demeaning to students and those who work for him and around him. He gets a kick when you compliment him or ask him to talk about himself (unrelated to biochemistry), and he certainly picks favorites (which does affect your grade) based on who gives him the most ego padding. Anyway, I'm writing this to say _be careful_. Take the course to learn and use your TAs (course and PSAFE) as resources, and then move on. Let your learning define your experience and let that be it. Try to stay away from Grisham.

Grisham is an excellent lecturer but terrible test writer. Be prepared to do every problem in the back of the book comfortably if you want to get a good grade in the class. It is quite an engaging class and if you can figure out what things you need to memorize from him or the TAs you will do fine.

I may be biased because I love Professor Grisham, but I thought he was an amazing teacher. I love professor who are enthusiastic about what they teach and Prof. Grisham was exactly that. He loves what he does and that is evident through his explaining of the concepts. Yes, he does read off the slides but definitely not in a boring manner. He is engaging and does emphasize what will be on the exam. He drops major hints at his office hours so I'd go to them regularly, or at least before exams. The pop quizzes do suck considering that they are pop quizzes but they don't really count for much of your grade. Plus, he gives you one free 10/10 and then only counts your highest 3 quizzes (out of 6) so they aren't terrible. His exams are fair in that all the information can be found in the slides/textbook but they are difficult regardless. If you want to do well, you should be doing the recommended practice problems (no one has time to do all of them so look through and pick the difficult ones/ ones that look like they could be potential exam questions) and going to office hours. The TAs can be really helpful so go to their office hours too. I read the textbook but found that focusing on the lecture slides and doing the practice problems were much more helpful on the exams (he covers everything from the textbook anyways). But if you decide to skip reading the textbook, you should still read the little "human biochem" boxes throughout the chapters because they could show up as an exam question or even an extra credit question. PSAFE should help your grade (my class struggled a bit because of our TA but that is not the norm). There is even an extra credit assignment at the end for PSAFE that is super easy and will bump your grade up. PSAFE can seem challenging initially but you'll quickly realize that they're relatively simple to do (again, just go to the PSAFE TA's office hours and ask for help). Overall, a much better class than the bio department's biochem (from what I hear from my friends) and a worthwhile course even if we are all taking it for our major requirement.

Grisham is a very good lecturer - I though 80-90% of the lectures were both informative and interesting.
Tests were very hard(and surprisingly short time wise!). Requires in-depth knowledge of all the chapters you go over(and their associated practice problems), although the content of some is not tested much due to tests being so short. Don't try to guess which chapter this will be though! Most of the stuff he tests on are main concepts and example problems he mentions or does in class as clicker questions.
PSAFE was hit or miss based on the protein you were assigned. Some people had well characterized proteins and writing their report was not that hard, and others got a more difficult protein and had to be...creative to fill up the required pages. Was not graded too harshly either way.

Grisham is a very nice man. He is very personable in office hours, passionate about the material, and cares for his students well-being. That being said, I do not believe he came to lecture prepared. There were constant tangents in lecture where he would discuss interesting- albeit ancillary- information. If you were 800-series chem, this class is entirely review. The textbook for this class is not good. It is incredibly expensive AND HE WROTE IT. He wrote his own poorly-ranked textbook and is hocking it to his students for $300. You can't even buy a used one because he updates it every two years. Furthermore, you (or one of your friends) needs to purchase the solutions manual because a majority of the important answers you need for end-of-chapter questions are not included. I believe this is in very poor form as a writer and exceptionally poor taste as a university professor/ employee. He pulls exam questions almost directly from end of chapter problems and many of these questions require you buy the solutions manual to see the answer. If this class was not a requirement for my major, I would drop it and/or wait until another professor took over. I talk to prof Grisham a lot and like him- but not as my professor.

Heard terrible things about both this class and Grisham, only to be pleasantly surprised. This is a very time-intensive course, so do not take it if you are not fully cognizant of that fact. However, I found that if I did the readings after class/paid attention in lecture (especially to note what he emphasized) the tests were pretty easy. Grisham was also a great guy. He really went out of his way to help students out, and it was immediately apparent that he was passionate about the material. Unlike a few classes I've taken, I think in Chem 4410 with Grisham you will get the grade you work for. I worked really hard, and I got an A. But it wasn't easy keeping up with the work!! Definitely make sure you know how to grind if you're gonna take this course. Also PSAFE sucks.

Grisham's class is very difficult and memory-intensive, especially since he wrote the textbook and knows every little word in it. If you accept this fact and work really hard, then it's not a bad class. He presents the material well even if he is a little awkward and laughs at his own jokes ALL the time. For tests, be prepared to know structures inside and out, know the details of every little "fun fact" box in the textbook, and write down every name he mentions in class because it can and will show up on at least the first test. PSAFE sucks but it is what it is.

Grisham's philosophy is A) He wants this class to be comparable to a med school biochem class and B) 10 hrs studying per week gets you a C. He is not kidding..... He's not the complete ass I've heard about in semesters past, in fact there were times when he was downright nice. However, the class is still ridiculous, the required hours will destroy your other classes if you're not careful. The exams are.... painful. Not impossible but it's usually just regurgitating info in the ~1 hour time limit (I think they deserve at least 2) and the grading is very much geared towards having exactly what is on the key. Don't expect a lot of timely feedback in them, this isn't orgo. There were times when he straight up told some things but had something else on the exam. I.e. it's okay to really focus on lineweaver burke OR hanes woolfe but required the later on the last exam.
The PSAFE project will save your life (you think I'm kidding, I'm not) if you do well, Julia was an angel. Go to the TAs office hours for this every week, it will boost your grade considerably.

All in all I was disappointed by the professor's inability to teach, periodic inconsistency, and periodic lack of professionalism. However, it is doable IF you keep up with the reading. I don't mean just skimming the words. I mean really understanding the info as you go along. Lastly, although it pains me to say it, most of the info you really just need to memorize before you can apply it. Concepts alone are not enough.

Everyone is way too hard on Grisham. It is a really tough class and you have to put in many, many hours a week studying. He may not be the most engaging lecturer, but he does give you the background to study and understand the details on your own. A lot of people are under the impression that the professor is supposed to teach you everything. In a 4000 level chemistry class, this isn't plausible so you will have to learn a lot of concepts on your own because there isn't time to grasp them during class time.
If you aren't a dedicated science person, I would NOT take this class. It takes a true desire to want to learn the material to do well in this class. If you aren't dedicated, you will suck in this class and get a bad grade.
I enjoyed this class a lot. Although Grisham is not as engaging as Landers, I still find him to be an effective teacher. His dry humor may be a turn-off to some and he does come across as a bit arrogant at times, but almost all science professors that I've had at UVa are at least a bit arrogant.
Don't blow-off PSAFE because it can be a real grade-helper if you do well on it. Pay attention to details on the project and don't let little details lose you valuable points. Every point counts in this class!
I made it out with a good grade in this class but worked REALLY HARD for it. You'll get the grade you work for.

Do not be fooled by Grisham's "I'm here to help" or "I want to challenge you to reach your potential" speeches. Grisham wants us to fail. Okay, probably a slight exaggeration, but this is a horrible class. Don't take it unless you have to, even then, strongly consider your options.
The breakdown:
- 3 semester tests, 1 final. Final is cumulative, despite being informed of this only 1 week before the exam. Exams are basically a rush to regurgitate the textbook word for word. Memorize the textbook. I'm not exaggerating. Every table, graph, side note, structure, mechanism - everything. And every fun side story he tells in class, every scientist friend in Denmark, every Nobel Prize winner - memorize. Do not zone out. EVERYTHING is fair game with Grisham - which I think is completely unfair, because that's not testing understanding, that's testing memorization. Averages around a 50%
- 6 pop quizzes. These will rule your life. Every Tuesday Thursday, you will be haunted by the possibility of a pop quiz. Be prepared. You won't have enough time to finish, but try to keep up on the 40-some pages per class you have to read. Averages will be around a 4/10
- PSAFE: actually a rewarding experience, at the very end. Basically, you get assigned a protein to learn the function and structure and study and model on some software. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. I say this, but you will anyway. Pulled my first complete all-nighter writing the first paper, but once that's over, you're pretty much done. GO TO OFFICE HOURS of the TA in charge. From the beginning. Each point counts.
- Reading: do it. do it often. do it multiple times. DO THE QUESTIONS IN THE BACK OF THE BOOK. Multiple times. Our second test was basically entirely book problems.

Advice:
- Stay on top of your reading. (Easier said than done)
- Study everything (this will seem overwhelming. it is.)
- Understand free energy - it will be on every test
- Know people, stories, nobel laureates
- Do the suggested book problems
- Don't procrastinate on PSAFE
- Go to office hours of PSAFE TA
- Know amino acid structures to heart
- Know -30.5kj/mol
- Know you'll never feel prepared

The class overall was not as difficult as everyone makes it sound. If you pay attention during lecture and read the book, it is manageable. Going to lectures is important just to see what topics he emphasizes- read the book to understand concepts. PSAFE helps too, so don't slack off on it.

There are vibes that this class is super hard, but just focus on the concepts Grisham stresses in class and you will do just fine. Don't look at the book, the same material is presented more concisely in the slides. Nothing on the exams will be from the book that is not also in the slides or not mentioned by Grisham in class.

Finally, more so than any other class at UVA, this class is full of people who try too hard to look good in front of their peers, Grisham, and the TAs -- try not to let these students distract you. Avoid the pre-exam review sessions too (it does more harm than good).

The PSAFE project is a grade booster, but ICM Browser Pro is a pain to deal with. Save your work often and don't fall behind.

Grisham clearly cares about the subject matter, and his book isn't badly written. The concepts aren't difficult in and of themselves, but the bulk of material provided is intimidating. Overall, Grisham is not my favorite person, but he makes a decent professor. I learned a ton.

Grisham's a great and enthusiastic lecturer. Thankfully, he wasn't monotonous or anything like that, because I'll admit that there were times that things got a little dull (all he did was read off his slides) and I might have fallen asleep or something otherwise. But overall, I thought the class was really interesting; and it wasn't that hard, either. Having a good memory obviously helps since you'll have to know a few random details (like how trehalose prevents the formation of ice crystals in fish blood) as well as molecular structures, but it's quite possible to study smart and not necessarily hard. He drops big hints by emphasizing which topics are important enough to be on the test, so really pay attention in lecture. For example, later on in the semester when we were going over enzyme kinetics, he flat out told us that there would be 20 or 25 points out of 100 on the test that would be devoted to Michaelis-Menten--we'd be given kinetics data, and we'd have to graph it (as a double reciprocal plot) to figure out what kind of inhibition was involved (among other things). But for the details, focus on ~cool facts~ like those found in text boxes of the textbook. The PSAFE project isn't bad, either. The molecular modeling software, ICM Browser Pro, isn't that unfriendly - you could figure a lot out if you just messed around with it a little - and if it really wasn't cooperating, Erna did a good job of helping us out.

Terrible professor, worse TA. Taught myself more than anything in this class as Grisham likes to read his powerpoints and book to you, which you can do yourself. Sad excuse for a fourth-year biochemistry class. Getting Landers in the Spring will show you just how bad Grisham is.

This is the big class for biochem majors. If you aren't a biochem major, I recommend taking the one semester class offered in the Biology department. It's fewer credits that will count against you. However, if you either love biochem or are really good at biochem, take this class. Grisham will try and inspire you by saying everyone is terrible. From what I've heard, he's also unapproachable during office hours. He'll grill you over the number of times you read the text before he'll let you talk to him. The protein project is the grade saver in this class (it's not unheard of to get a 100 on it), especially if you have the right TA. For studying, do the following: read the chapter before class, attend lecture, read the chapter again, making note cards for structures and outlining general concepts. Also, make sure you are comfortable with the gibbs free energy equation. That will rear its ugly head when you least expect it.

This course was brutal. Grisham wrote the book and so expects you to know everything in it with CRIPPLING AGONIZING DETAIL. The exams only have questions on maybe half the material so you have to sort of guess which things he's going to ask about. I usually guessed wrong.
I averaged about 10 hours of study per week and the week before the test i increased that to about 15 per week and still did not do well.
There is a long term project which is easy and will save your grade. Your TA's undergrads who took the class the previous semester and the edvice they give is just STUDY STUDY STUDY. If you have the time, take this course and nothing else and you might do alright.

Hard class. Useless lecture. Don't take it if you don't have to. I didn't understand most of what he said.

Class Overview:
As all chemistry majors know, this class is required. Grisham is the co-author of the textbook with Professor Garrett in the biology department. The class is essentially a survey of the prototypical biomolecules: proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and sugars. After that is covered, Grisham discusses broad characteristics of enzyme function and membrane structure and function. Your grade in the class is derived from your grade on the two (three?) midterms, the final, and the overall grade from the PSAFE project.
The goal of the PSAFE project is to introduce the students to protein modeling using MolSoft. Exemplar projects have the opportunity to be submitted as an appendix to their textbook.
Lecture:
In essence, it felt as if Grisham was Bob Barker and we were on the Price is Right with biochemistry. It seemed as if he was showcasing biochemistry to us rather than instructing it from a principle/application standpoint. With that said, there was a lot of material and a lot of memorization.
Expectations:
Grisham starts the semester by saying that dedicating 3 hours of study time per 1 hour of lecture time will be about enough to get a C in the course. With that, he stressed that he won't test us on minutiae, yet instead focus on larger principles. Unfortunately, every test had sizable sections dedicated to name-dropping scientists or bare memorization of data extracted from one table, on one page of the text. At other times, the questions he asks test an important concept but is presented in such a convoluted fashion that it becomes more of an eyesore than anything else. At times it felt as if the most important concepts from that section were glossed over/absent in the test and other minor/insignificant details were stressed.
PSAFE project:
Program is user-unfriendly. We can't blame Grisham for this since he practically detached his responsibility over the project's administration. It was left solely in the hands of a TA who was responsible for grading ~100 assignments. There were 10 minor assignments related to the project that had to be submitted over the course of the class. This means that an undergraduate TA was solely responsible for grading ~1000 assignments. Then, the TA had to grade the ACTUAL project at the end. With that said, it was virtually impossible for the TA to keep pace and assignments never were returned in a timely fashion/if at all. This was bad because the assignments were supposed to help introduce us to the MolSoft program, and basically set up our final project portfolio. Furthermore, the assignments were supposed to tell us what formatting requirements were expected. As a result, formatting irregularities became a common reason for point detraction for the final product. An example is that the right type of red was not used.

Overall, just get the class done.

Lectures are pretty worthless other than to find out the small details that Grisham wants you to know. PSAFE project is easy but a pain because the program is not very intuitive

This course requires knowing a lot of information, but it relatively easy to navigate if you pay attention. Prof. Grisham gives large hints about what will be on the exam because he spends extra time on the topics in class, and will sometimes even tell you what is on the exam. There was only one previous exam available to us, of which only one problem was relevant throughout the semester. Make sure you read the textbook, and be sure to pay attention to the boxes in the text that talk about connections of biochem to life.

Although difficult, this class is very rewarding especially for students interested in pursuing health sciences or pharmacy. Professor Grisham's enthusiasm makes lectures interesting and engaging. The PSAFE project was well run this semester and really helps solidify your understanding of the subject. Pay attention to lectures as Professor Grisham often hints at what may come on the exam. Studying from slides is a great guide however you still need to read the textbook chapters at least once. The solutions manual is optional but I highly recommend renting it or buying it. Overall a great class, it is well worth the time and effort.

Professor Grisham is possibly one of the finest, most enthusiastic and dedicated teachers I have ever had. The man makes you want to learn, he is truly passionate about the subject he teaches-which, is by no means a simple class. I have also heard that his class resembles med-school courses. His exams are not easy. This class requires commitment and hard work.

The protein project is awful and Grisham is not a good prof.

Professor Grisham is an awesome professor and is really enthusiastic about what he teaches. It helps to read the chapter before lecture and then study for tests using slides. I would also recommend doing the problems at the end of the chapters because test problems are often very similar.

huge time commitment.

Very enthusiastic professor. Knows what he's talking about...he wrote the book.

Avoid at all costs. He is just awful.

Grisham is very enthusiastic about this subject but the class requires tons of memorization. That would be fine except for the fact that he expects you memorize a lot of random facts that seem irrelevant. The exam material largely corresponds to the lecture material. The project that takes place for the final exam is very poorly run by the TA and is annoying.

Grisham definitely knows his stuff, but the pure amount of info in this class makes it tough. Study hard and good grades are definitely possible.

This class was very challenging because of the shear amount of information you had to memorize. Overall, the material is very interesting and Grisham really does know his stuff. However, the test are very hard with low averages.

This class is absurdly difficult, but the curve is great.

This class is probably going to be one of the hardest that you take at UVA. Be ready to do a lot of work, especially reading the textbook, doing the end-of-chapter problems, and memorizing random facts. Attend the class because he emphasizes certain concepts/problems and stay on top of the reading. Also, if they continue the protein molecular document project, do not wait till the last minute because it is too much work and the T.A's are very helpful in advance. Overall the material is very interesting if you want to learn about the field or sciences in general.

This class sucks but a lot of it is knowing what kind of questions he's going to ask on the test...seems like structure drawing and mechanisms were emphasized much more than knowing concepts

Very difficult course, average on the first exam was a 37%. Grisham wrote the textbook, which is actually pretty decent (for a book about bio molecules of course), but because of that expects you to know pretty much EVERYTHING covered in it, which is pretty much impossible. The course therefore requires a ton of studying to do well, a TON. 3 midterms $25%, and just began a "molecular document" project, which involves writing reports and modeling a presentation on a protein.

The modeling project was also fairly horrible, he gets all excited by how cool it is for all of us to makes a presentation on a protein with 3-D modeling, but the reality is that the program is very buggy, unintuitive, and takes forever to learn. It requires another big time commitment on top of the rest of course. And because the whole course is just on a curve, it won't help your grade.

great professor. enthusiastic about his subject and extremely knowledgeable. the class is hard, he clarifies that at the beginning. he wrote the textbook so expect to learn everything for the test.

Definitely worthwhile if you come prepared to work. If you don't have at least 10 hours a week to dedicate to studying, it is extremely difficult to do well. A lot of memorization and application is involved.

Grisham is a great professor. The class is hard and requires a lot of work, but he gives you a fair warning from day one. There is a lot of memorization but that comes with the territory. Biochemistry is all about memorizing structures. I say all the complaints before and I agree with most, but after all this is a 400 level course. It is easy to dislike Grisham while taking the course, but after seeing other professors in 400 level courses, I have grown to appreciate him as a great professor.

Grisham says that if he wants us to memorize he will give us an entire phone book instead of a textbook. In reality, we basically had to memorize the entire book. Grisham is a great guy but a questionable professor. He is very knowledgeable about his subject and you can sense his passion but memorizing every paragraph of the textbook is just not efficient nor useful. Also, reading off of the slides during class does not count as a lecture. Know the names of the scientists he mentions in class, bizarre chemistry, bacteriorhodopsin, how to make light beer and how to draw a perfect diagram of a top-view of an alpha helix (in 2 minutes or less). Does not give nearly enough time for exams yet he expects you to be perfect. Biochemistry is an interesting but tough subject and Grisham succeeded in making it tougher than it really is and less interesting than it should be.

Despite what Professor Grisham says at the beginning of the class, this class is mostly memorization, but he tells you exactly what you need to know so you just need to spend the time to do it. I found it was best to read the book before class so you had a general idea of the material and then when he goes over the exact same information it makes a lot more sense.

Possibly the toughest class I have taken at UVA. You are responsible for pretty much every fact, figure, and table in the first 16 chapters of the book. Emphasizes memorization of irrelevant details such as names of scientists, length and timescale of bonds and bond vibrations. You will need to memorize probably 50+ structures. FINAL IS CUMULATIVE and ridiculous. 38 kids got some sort of A, 89 got some sort of B out of 140 kids. Grades are determined by rank and this class is full of the most intense premeds. Have fun!

Basically what the other people have said. Book material = slides = what he tells you in class. Exams are wicked detail oriented on stuff that may/may not have any bearing on how much you actually "learned." And finally, if you're taking this class, it's probably because you're a biochem major and have to. He does tell you some of the specific things you'll have to know for the exams in class, so that helps, but avoid this class unless you're biochem.

Oh, where to begin. The relevance of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the production of light beer, and knowing how to free hand 18 residues worth of a helical wheel is questionable. Dr. Grisham always says that he wants this to be "the best class at UVA." Ha. If this were actually true, I wouldn't have spent time on my final singing the ABCs, trying to track down the amino acids that have two chiral centers. Instead, I might have been thinking about how specific residues bind to specific types of substrates. But this would have made sense. The redemptive factor is that you are forced to plow through the stuff once, which will make medical school that much easier, assuming this class doesn't completely turn you off.

"If you're studying any less than 10 hours/week, you should expect a C or lower." -Grisham
I'd say, that's an understatement.

This class was not fun. Grisham served up random memorization questions, and never really tested fundamentals of what you're learning. The bulk of the class is memorizing random formulas and numbers which have nothing to do with the overall study or practice of Biochemistry. There is no structure to his exams, and I honestly got more out of reading the book than I did out of his lectures. Avoid class, unless you HAVE to take it.

Professor is great, he really enjoys teaching and wants you to learn. You do have to be ready to put a lot of effort and brain power into this course though.

The class was a fair amount of reading on the side but definitely not the time involvement that Grisham claims at the beginning of the semester. As long as you go to the lectures and read the information, the tests are not that hard. Although it may have been different because the TAs made up the exams this year as opposed to Grisham himself.

As a biochem major, you have to take this class. Professor Grisham is definately a nice guy. Unfortuantely, he wrote the textbook, so you get the textbook read to you during class. It's hard to learn when no new insight is provided. This class is completely memorization (how many angstroms across are hydrogen bonds between base pairs in DNA?), as opposed to the conceptual approache used in 442. So you should take it if you want 442, but it is not very fun at all.

This is a very valuable class for those heading into a career in the biological or health sciences. The material can even be enjoyable. However, despite Grisham's best attempts to spark the class with enthusiasm it is a ton of work, there is no way around it.

Great class.

This class requires a lot of studying and not just the day before the exams. There are quizzes almost every day in class, which makes you learn everything as you go

This class is easy... provided that you can memorize the textbook and/or lecture slides verbatim. The tests are fair, but difficult if you haven't memorized obscure details. Dr. Grisham mainly spends lectures covering the same information printed directly on his slides (which are taken directly from the textbook). More often than not, people come to class only to take the quizzes. Most people spend lecture on the internet using the tablets provided for the class. Grading in the class takes forever, and Dr. Grisham doesn't respond to e-mail and is never in his office. In short, I can't really recommend taking this class unless you fall into one of these categories: A) you're a biochem major, in which case, it's unavoidable, or B) you're pre-med. Medical schools like to see biochemistry, and it will prepare you for biochemistry when you take it in med school. Also, biochemistry is useful when taking the MCATs. If you're not in one of these two categories, I wouldn't recommend this class, unless you're looking for a semester's worth of regrets.