[BIOL W4300] Drugs and Disease

Dr. Lin is a very nice woman however
I feel like the class was a waste of time. Anyone can pick up a bunch of scientific papers and read it on their own. I cannot believe i actually paid for a class that reads scientific papers that one can probably get off the internet. I learned more from the presentations that actually reading a variety of papers that briefly pick up topics from all aspects of biology and give you a general overview that does not really help one tryin to specialize in a particular area.

Dr. Lin is a sweet woman who does not quite seem to understand the inherent problems with making 20% of your grade participation. She knows enough about each subject to get by in her short lectures of the class, however, there often were instances where one of the students (mainly grad/ bio-tech students) who were more knowledgable about the topic at hand than she was. On the whole, I feel that I know somewhat more about critiqueing papers and the issues with trying to cure certain diseases. However, if you think that this class will give you an overview or an in depth view of the major diseases and the pathways that drugs are used to combat them, forget this class. Go to the medical school. That being said, you can't say that I am bitter about this because I didn't do well. I did, I got an "A."

I took this class as an undergrad in the School of General Studies, but with a bachelor's in Biology from UC Berkeley. I was astonished at the poor quality of education offered by this course and professor. Carol Lin had no regard for student concerns, giving virtually no feedback after papers or the midterm. I had to solicit a response for three papers that I wrote, and even then she was curt and unhelpful in her reply. The format of the class consisted of reading journal articles and student presentations based on those readings. Lin did not lecture, nor did she help out students who were having difficulty presenting the material. It is one thing for professors to encourage interactive learning, but another to slack off and not invest in the students. Lin has no respect for her students or for the amount of time and money students spend on their education. She does not understand the concept of teaching. I am appauled that a university such as Columbia (though the graduate program for bio is not the university's forte) allows this course to remain in the course catalogue. It is a disgrace to the reputation of the school. I basically wasted $2500 for a reading list that I could have gotten online and for hours of painful presentations by nervous peers.

This class consists of reading 40 - (10 pages average) papers on different drugs and diseases. The papers are usually from nature and science magazine, and are pretty intense in difficulty. Classes are all student presentations which are good to give you the gist of the paper. You think you can skip class and read the papers on your own, but this can be hard.