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!