• Post Doctoral – DNAX Research Inst.
• Ph.D. Texas A&M University
• M.S.  Texas A&M University
• B.A.  University of California, Santa Barbara

Raab joined the JMU faculty in Fall 2001 and teaches courses in biotechnology and awareness and understanding of WMDs.

He serves as a regional HazMat responder, and educator for the Fire Departments of Harrisonburg, and Rockingham County in Virginia. 

He provides instruction and training for National Guard Civil Support Teams. In addition, he also serves as a volunteer firefighter. 

Prior to joining JMU, Raab spent 15 years in the biotech industry as a research scientist at IDEC Pharmaceuticals, and Affymax Research Institute. He has taught Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Raab's research interests are the cloning, expression, and purification of genes from pathogenic bacteria, and viruses for use as potential vaccines, therapeutics, and/or for diagnostic reagents for the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.

He is currently working on cloning various forms of the human eye protein lacritin for therapeutical of dye-eye syndrome and bacterial eye infections. 

• WMD Radiological/Nuclear Awareness - National Security Technologies
• WMD Standardized Awareness Trainer - Center for Domestic Preparedness
• Fundamentals Course for Radiological Response - Center for Domestic Preparedness
• Radiological Training for Hospital Personnel - Center for Domestic Preparedness
• Avanced Chem/Bio Integrated Response - Joint Operational Testing and Training
• Hospital Emergency Response Teams - Center for Domestic Preparedness
• Integrated Command Systems 300 and 400 – Virginia Dept. of Emergency Management

• Robert L McKown; Brooke M Justis; Casey E Coburn; Ronald W Raab; Bruce Rivers; Rose K Sia; Gordon W Laurie.. Development of a Quantitative Multiplex Western Blot Assay for Tear Lacritin Protiens.  Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science July 2018, Vol.59, 4914

• Ronald W. Raab, Julia E. Moore, Edward L. Vargo, Lucy Rose, Julie Raab, Madeline Culbreth, Gracie Burzumato, Aurvan Koyee, Brittany McCarthy, Jennifer Raffaele, Coby Schal, Rajeev Vaidyanathan.  New Introductions, Spread of Existing Matrilines, and High Rates of Pyrethroid Resistance Result in Chronic Infestations of Bed Bugs (Cimex lectularius) in Lower-Income Housing.  PLOS ONE DOI:10.137/journal.pone.0117805.  February 22, 2016

• Robert L McKown; Alan C. Tate; Alison M. Enghauser; Cara L. Soyars; Ronald W. Raab; Gordon W Laurie; Ian P. Herring.  Canine Tear Lacritin is Down Regulated in Clinical Dry Eye,  Investigative Opthalmology and Visual Science June 2015, Vol 56, 288.

• Jenifer Raffaele, Brittany McCarthy, Ronald W. Raab, and Rajeev Vaidyanathan.  Autosomal Short Tandem Repeats and an Alu Insertion Polymorphism Are Detectable in Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) for 48 Hours after Human Blood Ingestion.  J. Agricultural and Urban Entomology.  Vol.31. 2015

• Robert L. McKown, Erin V. Coleman Frazier, Kaneil K. Zadrozny, Andrea M. Deault, Ronald W. Raab Denise S. Ryan, Rose K. Sia, Jae K. Lee, and Grodon W. Laurie.  A Cleavage-potentiated Fragment of Tear Lacritin Is Bactericidal.  The Journal of Biological Chemistry Vol. 289, No. 32 pp. 22172, August 8, 2014.

• Wang N, Zimmerman K, Raab RW, McKown RL, Hutnik CM, Talla V, Tyler MF 4th, Lee JK, Laurie GW.  Lacritin rescues stressed epithelia via rapid forkhead box O3 (FOXO3)-associated autophagy that restores metabolism.  J Biol Chem. 2013 Jun 21;288(25):18146-61. PMID: 23640897

• Zhang Y, Wang N, Raab RW, McKown RL, Irwin JA, Kwon I, van Kuppevelt TH, Laurie GW. Targeting of heparanase-modified syndecan-1 by prosecretory mitogen lacritin requires conserved core GAGAL plus heparan and chondroitin sulfate as a novel hybrid binding site that enhances selectivity.  J Biol Chem. 2013 Apr 26;288(17):12090-101. PMID:23504321

• McKown RL, Raab RW, Kachelries P, Caldwell S, Laurie GW.  Conserved regional 3' grouping of rare codons in the coding sequence of ocular prosecretory mitogen lacritin.  Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2013 Mar 19;54(3):1979-87

• Velez V F, Romano JA, McKown RL, Green K, Zhang L, Raab RW, Ryan DS, Hutnik CM, Frierson HF Jr, Laurie GW.  Tissue transglutaminase is a negative regulator of monomeric lacritin bioactivity.  Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2013 Mar 1;54(3):2123-32

• Michelle M. Giffin, Ronald W. Raab, Melissa Morganstern, and Charles D. Sohaskey.  Mutational Analysis of the Respiratory Nitrate Transporter NarK2 of Myc. PLoS One. 2012; 7(9): e45459

• Michelle M. Giffin, Lucia Modesti, Ronald W. Raab, Lawrence G. Wayne, and Charles D. Sohaskey. ald of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Encodes both the Alanine Dehydrogenase and the Putative Glycine Dehydrogenase  Journal of Bacteriology.  2012, 194(5): 1045-1054.

• Zhang Y, McKown RL, Raab RW, Rapraeger AC, Laurie GW.  Focus on molecules: syndecan-1.  Exp Eye Res. (2011) ;93(4):329-30.  PMID:  20599970

• Bradford S Powell, Ph.D.; Jeff T Enama; Ronald W Raab, Ph.D.; Robert  L McKown, Ph.D.; George Coffman, Ph.D.; Gerard P Andrews, Ph.D. Purification and characterization of a recombinant Yersinia pestis V-F1 "Reversed" fusion protein for use as a new subunit vaccine against plague Protein Expression and Purification, 2011, 76, 136-144

• Jenkins, Tiffany, Smith, Josh, Zimmerman, Benjamin, and Raab, Ronald.  Oxygen Depletion in a Level A Hazmat Suit.  Fire Engineering.  2010 November vol.163 #11

• Yinghui Zhang, Robert L. McKown, Ronald W. Raab, Alan C. Rapraeger, Gordon W. Laurie.  Focus on Molecules: Syndecan-1.  Experimental Eye Research.  June 2010 

• Robert L. McKown, Ningning Wang, Ronald W. Raab, Roy Karnati, Yinghui Zhang, Patricia Williams, Gordon W. Laurie (2009) Lacritin and other new proteins of the lacrimal functional unit. Experimental Eye Research. 2009 May; 88(5): 848-58

• Peisong Ma, Ningning Wang, Rober L. McKown, Ronald W. Raab, and Gordon W. Laurie.  Focus on Molecules: Lacritin.  Experimental Eye research (2008) 86

• Ronald Raab, and Wieslaw Swietnicki.  Yersinia pestis YopD15-0287 fragment is partially unfolded in the native state.  Protein Expression and Purification (2008) 58 

• George L. Coffman, Ronald W. Raab, and Robert L. McKown.  Expression of Ebola Virus Proteins in a Eucaryotic Cell System for Production of Critical Diagnostics to Address the Threat of Bioterrorism.  George Mason University Press. 2007

• Peisong Ma, Ningning Wang, Robert L. McKown, Ronald W. Raab, and Gordon W. Laurie.  Focus on Molecules: Lacritin.  Experimental Eye Research. 2007.

• Peisong Ma, Shannon L. Beck, Ronald W. Raab, Robert L. McKown, George L. Coffman, William J. Chirico, Alan C. Rapraeger, and Gordon L. Laurie.  Deglycosylation of Co-recetptor Syndecan-1 is Required for Core Protein Binding of Epithelial Restricted Prosecretory Mitogen Lacritin. The Journal of Cell Biology (2006) Vol. 174. No. 7

• McKown, Robert, L., Seifert, Kyle, and Raab, Ronald, W.  Novel Methonds and Reagents for Diagnosing Sjogren’s Syndrome.  United States Property Organization.  Publication Number US2018/0214545 A1  August 2, 2018.

• McKown, Robert, L., Raab, Ronald W., and Laurie, Gordon, W.  Antimicrobial Activity in Variants Lacritin.  World Intellectual Property Organization.  International Publication Number   WO2008/033477 A2.  20 March 2008.

• McKown, Robert L., Raab, Ronald W. and Laurie, Gordon W.  Antimicrobial Activity in Variants of Lacritin.  International Patent Publication Number WO 2008/033477 A2.   2008  Patent disclosure for Human Lacritin clones for dry eye syndrome (2006)

• Newman, Roland, A., Hanna, Nabil, and Raab, Ronald, W.,  Recombinant Antibodies for Human Therapy (1997)  US  PAT# 5,658,570