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.