[{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:35.472513+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMxODI5MDA4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1699041","instructor_name":"David Pagliarini","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2019-05-09 21:23:23 +0000 UTC","comment":"David is an excellent professor who makes very clear what will and will not be needed for the exam. I really enjoyed how clearly he explained things and how he included interesting and relevant examples. I found that it was easy (well, as easy as biochem can be) to succeed in his class and would certainly take him again.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1699041","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:35.472513+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMxNDMyMDAz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1699041","instructor_name":"David Pagliarini","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2019-03-13 14:31:39 +0000 UTC","comment":"Professor Pagliarini was an excellent lecturer who took the time to make the material clear and interesting. His expectations for the exams were laid out lecture by lecture in a study guide which made preparing for the exams quite simple. I found that his exam followed the study guide and was very straight forward. Would definitely take again.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1699041","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:35.472513+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTI4MzA5MTYx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1699041","instructor_name":"David Pagliarini","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2017-05-14 18:39:07 +0000 UTC","comment":"Professor Pagliarini is my favorite professor in the department. He recognizes the material he teaches is difficult and truly cares that his students do well. He is very clear with what will and won't be tested on the exam. His lectures were interesting & he was friendly when asking questions. Its a shame he only taught 1/4 of the class.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1699041","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:35.472513+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTI3ODgwMzY1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1699041","instructor_name":"David Pagliarini","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2017-03-05 21:54:53 +0000 UTC","comment":"He is a phenomenal teacher. It is unfortunate that he is so busy with his research that he can only teach 1/4 of the course. He is by far one of the greatest professors at the university. Super clear with his lectures. Gives very fair exams, and overall a very kind guy.  The other two biochem professors leave much to be desired","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1699041","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:35.472513+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTIyODk3MTE3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1699041","instructor_name":"David Pagliarini","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2014-03-09 14:22:09 +0000 UTC","comment":"He is a great professor and has a way to get the best out of students.  Information in his section was much more applicable and not just memorizing random structures that will soon be forgotten.  Lectures are clear and concise.  He does a great job explaining information clearly.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1699041","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:34:37.087130+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTI4MjgyNjg1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1557259","instructor_name":"James Ntambi","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2017-05-11 02:29:54 +0000 UTC","comment":"Professor Ntambi did not give a flying hoot about the class. He was never prepared for lecture, his exams did not follow his \"lecture goals\" at all. His exam was really easy, but he did not care about teaching. He didn't even bother posting an answer key to his practice exam. Unfortunate when teachers don't care about a class.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1557259","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:29:48.336465+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQwOTc2NTg4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2684990","instructor_name":"Judith Simcox","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2025-04-18 16:10:25 +0000 UTC","comment":"Do not take Biochem 508 with Simcox. Her exams are extremely unfair and the practice exams do not represent her exams. She also will give you a specific time of when she will post the grades and then not post them for hours. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2684990","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:29:48.336465+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQwNjA0NTA1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2684990","instructor_name":"Judith Simcox","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2025-01-26 19:07:54 +0000 UTC","comment":"Amazing lectures with interesting material that she explains very well, using real-life examples and keeping you engaged through the whole class. Very caring, hard-working, and overall outstanding faculty member!","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2684990","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:29:48.336465+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5NTQwNzI4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2684990","instructor_name":"Judith Simcox","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2024-06-01 02:06:55 +0000 UTC","comment":"Dr. Simcox is great at teaching and an even more amazing person. She cares a lot about students' learning as well as individual goals. Her knowledge of metabolism is expansive and extremely impressive, and she is a fantastic analytical scientist on top of that. Can't recommend her enough!","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2684990","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:29:48.336465+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5MTAwMzM2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2684990","instructor_name":"Judith Simcox","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2024-03-28 20:54:02 +0000 UTC","comment":"Dr. Simcox i extremely passionate about her content but also explains well, points out clearly what to know for the exam and her practice exams are same structure as her real exams. It is a lot of memorization so give enough time to study, but she is great. If you go to lecture she will give you extra info on the exam but lectures are recorded.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2684990","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:29:48.336465+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MjQ4NTQy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2684990","instructor_name":"Judith Simcox","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2022-12-27 04:45:56 +0000 UTC","comment":"One of the best professors I have ever had; teaches a difficult class but tests fairly. She is a passionate lecturer and throws in anecdotes and hints to help you remember the content. You have to understand AND memorize pathways to do well on her exams. Super helpful and accessible outside of class and took the time to learn everyone's name.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2684990","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:29:48.336465+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1MDEwMjc2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2684990","instructor_name":"Judith Simcox","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2021-08-06 06:36:55 +0000 UTC","comment":"Incredibly difficult exams, and lectures were very confusing. Her second unit of teaching is a bit better from the first once she starts summarizing what she goes over, but it's still incredibly dense content. Definitely make condensed tables of the reactions/pathways or you won't finish the exams.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2684990","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:09:37.544807+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMTY5OTky","source_instructor_id":"rmp:3098530","instructor_name":"Robert Kirchdoerfer","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2025-05-06 00:15:41 +0000 UTC","comment":"Kind, accessible during office hours, and you can tell that he really enjoys + understands his lecture unit. Lectures were well-organized and presented. His test prep was very faithful to the actual exam and clear about what to know. Understand the TopHat questions as they will be on the exam!! Always brought candy to the exams + office hours too.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3098530","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:06:28.751298+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMTcxNTE2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1092103","instructor_name":"Sebastian York Bednarek","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2025-05-06 02:02:48 +0000 UTC","comment":"Was a fine professor - main flaw as people have said is that his tests are very detail oriented and less on more important themes. Very doable as long as you go to class and study consistently instead of right before. Accessible for office hours.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1092103","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:06:28.751298+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5MjIxNDAx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1092103","instructor_name":"Sebastian York Bednarek","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2024-04-21 20:17:59 +0000 UTC","comment":"He's really not that bad. His exams are all memorization-based (and all lecture-based too). If you know what to study, which is all the slides, then his exams aren't super difficult. Sometimes he mixes up the terms he's using which can be annoying. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1092103","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:06:28.751298+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MjQ4NTA5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1092103","instructor_name":"Sebastian York Bednarek","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2022-12-27 04:40:23 +0000 UTC","comment":"Fantastic professor; a good lecturer and very passionate. 508 is a difficult class and he writes the toughest test out of the three professors, but he teaches in a way that forces you to really understand the material rather than just memorizing it. He is very accessible and helpful outside of class and clearly cares about student success. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1092103","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:06:28.751298+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0NDg1Mjc2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1092103","instructor_name":"Sebastian York Bednarek","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2021-03-29 18:47:37 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gives engaging and stimulating lectures and is always enthusiastic about the material, presenting it in a way that makes sense and is easy to follow. Also really great at answering student questions and clarifying things. Sometimes he gets a bit behind in lecture, but overall a great prof. for teaching 508.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1092103","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:06:28.751298+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzMTQwNDM0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1092103","instructor_name":"Sebastian York Bednarek","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2020-04-27 20:27:41 +0000 UTC","comment":"Sebastian lectures like he's giving a Ted talk and tries too hard to be dramatic. His slow pace will get you 3 lectures behind and mess your lecture notes up. I did well on the tests, but they were brutal. Memorizing words from the slides were more important than the learning to do good on the exams. COVID-19 is saving my grade on the final.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1092103","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:06:28.751298+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMxODMyNTkx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1092103","instructor_name":"Sebastian York Bednarek","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2019-05-10 02:27:32 +0000 UTC","comment":"His exams dont make sense. He asks you about random facts rather than concepts. He also has extremely wordy questions with a bunch of useless information. Horrible at writing test questions and cant seem to stick to the lecture schedule like his colleagues. Makes it difficult to keep track of where we are in the course","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1092103","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:06:28.751298+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMxODI4OTgw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1092103","instructor_name":"Sebastian York Bednarek","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2019-05-09 21:21:06 +0000 UTC","comment":"Sebastian was a fine professor, but I felt that his tests relied a bit too heavily on irrelevant details rather than useful concepts. Get ready to memorize names of enzymes and cofactors. While I preferred the other professors in the course, it is certainly possible to succeed in his section, just put in the time.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1092103","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:06:28.751298+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTI4MzA5MDky","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1092103","instructor_name":"Sebastian York Bednarek","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2017-05-14 18:24:57 +0000 UTC","comment":"Professor Bednarek was the worst professor I have had at UW-Madison. I really enjoy biochemistry and found the information very interesting. I was killing it in the class for the first 2 professors, but my grade dropped from an A to a B after Bednarek took over. I had a deep understanding of every slide he posted, but it meant nothing for the final","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1092103","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:06:28.751298+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTI4MzAxOTUw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1092103","instructor_name":"Sebastian York Bednarek","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2017-05-13 09:40:07 +0000 UTC","comment":"He has a bad rap for some reason, not really sure why.  He is a great lecturer who is clearly very enthusiastic about biochemistry and wants to share his knowledge with his students.  Unfortunately he isn't always the most helpful, especially in office hours, and his exams are tough but not impossible, he makes you work for it but you learn a lot.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1092103","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:06:28.751298+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTI4MjgyNjU2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1092103","instructor_name":"Sebastian York Bednarek","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2017-05-11 02:23:56 +0000 UTC","comment":"Professor Bednarek is a super nice guy, and really tries to help his students learn biochem. Unfortunately he's absolutely horrible at it. I went into the final with an A, and lost it coming out. I studied for his exams the exact same way that I did for all of other units (which I got A's on), and found them to be very confusing, and poorly worded.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1092103","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:06:28.751298+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTI4MjE0MzM1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1092103","instructor_name":"Sebastian York Bednarek","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2017-05-04 16:54:20 +0000 UTC","comment":"Avoid at all costs. Confusing lectures that ramble on, trick questions both in in-class activities and exams, and insufficient explanations in lectures. For a class that is already challenging enough, his teaching style makes it near impossible and he has a tendency to push detail towards grad-level. Unfortunately there are no other options for 508","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1092103","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:06:28.751298+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTI2NTQ2OTk5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1092103","instructor_name":"Sebastian York Bednarek","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2016-05-11 21:32:31 +0000 UTC","comment":"He's that kid who didn't read more than the first 30 pages of assigned readings, so all of his suggestions for class discussion questions are extrapolations of minutiae. That is to say his exams will not test any conceptual understanding of biochemistry, but that's par for the course with 507/508. Singlehandedly ruined my chances of an A in 508.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1092103","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:06:28.751298+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTI0ODEzNzI5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1092103","instructor_name":"Sebastian York Bednarek","course_label":"BIOCHEM508","course_id":"BIOCHEM 508","course_uid":"course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182","review_date":"2015-05-12 22:56:56 +0000 UTC","comment":"Neither his lectures nor his lecture slides are clear. I love biochemistry but this professor made it impossible to enjoy the class. I had to read and learn things from other sources. I had taken many genetics classes before this but he finds some too specific things that should be learned in other classes like molecular bio or genetics. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1092103","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0}]