CHEM 4420

best biochem prof. nuff said

If you take this class, be prepared for it to consume your life. Pop quizzes, exams, etc. However, it will also be the best and most interesting chemistry class you will take here at UVA and I've taken almost all of them and can assure you of this. It is more difficult and time consuming than Grisham's class but you actually learn information that is worthwhile and you will retain the key concepts much more so than any other class. The first exam requires you to know A TON of material (vitamins, all mechanism and structures associated with metabolism, hundreds of slides of material), but after that it wasn't as bad. I was sad when it was over.

Landers is a great teacher, very enthusiastic about the material and in general tries to put everything in terms that you can really understand. I had concerns about this class after 4410, but going through Landers lectures has reaffirmed my love of biochemistry and in general just makes me excited to learn about processes involved in the human body and how everything functions together. He gives 2 midterms and a final(they were worth 25%, 30%, and 30%), and also randomly quizzes you throughout the semester(he drops the lowest 1/4 of your quizzes, and gives anywhere between 6 and 10 a semester). That said, all the material is very fair, and even for times when he gets more specific, he tells you himself that it will be specific there and that you should focus on it. Never had to open the book, everything you need to know is from the slides.

hard class. Work and prepare before every class and you will do well.

Landers is a great professor, and if you dedicate yourself and study correctly, this can be a great class. He is a transition from Grisham. You don't need to read the book, but it's vital to go over the slides several times. You need to know general concepts with enough detail to be able to lecture on any given topic. If you display an interest in his class, and actively dedicate yourself to reviewing the material, Landers is a great guy to talk to during office hours. That being said, if you aren't willing to put a lot of time into going over the slides, don't bother taking this class. The grade distribution is much more generous than most Chemistry classes, but you will also be in a room filled with biochem majors. Are you sure you want that?

Breath of fresh air after Grisham's 4410, work hard, take the time to study the slides and textbook, and you'll do well.

Professor Landers was a great lecturer who really made class engaging with really interesting material. However, I was disappointed with his lack of professionalism. He often posted lecture slides late and did not respond to most emails. His tests were fair but extremely detail oriented, so be prepared to inhale every word and structure on his slides because you can't always predict what is necessarily "important" for his exams. There's no need to have the textbook because he does not assign reading and only tests from his lectures. Overall, I enjoyed what we learned but you will have to seriously commit the time to study.

A class that I looked forward to attending! Landers is really engaging. In the middle of his lecture he gives us fun, mildly relevant facts to keep us focused. He did lack a little bit of professionalism, but I'm pretty sure his research is incredibly demanding so sometimes he was late to class.
The tests were very hard. A lot of things to remember, and he expects you to remember all of the structures of relevant molecules. There were also pop quizzes, which I liked because they kept me studying in between exams.
The other really neat thing about Professor Landers is that he pays attention to the effort that you put into the class. If a student is on the border of getting an A and Landers can see that the student has improved and put in a lot of effort, he will bump their grade up.
Super interesting class overall. Just really study hard, because the grades won't come easy.

So this course is a higher level, University chemistry course. This means there is a lot of memorization of mechanisms, structures, and chemicals. However, unlike other courses with similar requirements, it doesn't have to be miserable. You luckily have Professor Landers teaching the material, so this course is very interesting AND miserable. But seriously Professor Landers makes this course genuinely engaging. He's a very fun guy and easily keeps your attention throughout lectures. This doesn't detract away from the requirements, however. Anything on the slides that he gives you is fair game, but the book you have from Grisham's class is really just supplemental and only needed for some more in depth explanation, no need to read it. Understand that you have to memorize and understand a vast amount of information for exams, and you'll do fine. Also, there are in class quizzes that test on recent material, so it's not a bad idea to review a little daily to get those easy points. The exams are not truly cumulative, though you are expected to remember recurring topics for them. The same can be said for the final. You can have fun and do well in the class with just some decent studying.

I cannot begin to say enough good things about this course. For once, I actually enjoyed a chemistry course at UVA and it's all thanks to Professor Landers' fun and engaging lecturing style. The enthusiasm he displays really makes the class more interesting and entertaining. Although there is a lot of material presented in a short amount of time (and you are expected to memorize structures and mechanisms), it's not entirely miserable like orgo or first semester biochem. The exams are fairly detailed so you definitely have to study hard but all the information is presented in the lecture slides (you don't need a textbook for this class at all). Professor Landers highlights what he thinks is important and goes over themes that show up repeatedly throughout the semester so be sure to know all of the things he spends a lot of time on but he presents everything in a very manageable way so that you don't get overwhelmed. He also takes breaks in class to go over cases where biochem is relevant or things that are random altogether (be ready for some truly random videos and pictures). There are also pop quizzes but those aren't nearly as detailed as the exams and he drops a few at the end of the semester. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the class (you can't really call a class fun, but this one comes pretty close), found the material really interesting, and it was easily my favorite class at UVA!