Biography
Dr. Raner taught in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro for 19 years before coming to Liberty University. While there he developed an active research program aimed at understanding underlying biochemical mechanisms related to Drug-Herb interactions, chemical toxicologies and medical uses of natural products.
Courses Taught
- BCHM 451 – Biochemistry I
- BCHM 450 – Medical Biochemistry
- BCHM 551 – Graduate Biochemistry
- CHEM 301L – Organic I Lab
- CHEM 302L – Organic II Lab
Research Interests
The first involves the evaluation of a variety of natural products (herbal medicines, essential oils, etc.) for potential health-promoting activities, or possible adverse effects when consumed with pharmaceutical drugs. Specifically, students learn how to culture human liver cells in the lab and evaluate specific biochemical markers associated with positive health effects, such as anti-oxidant action or chemo-preventive properties. High throughput enzymatic assays using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) or 96-well formatted fluorescence or luminescence kinetic assays are the primary tools associated with the project.
A second broad area of research is aimed at identifying novel peroxidase activities associated with a variety of different plant sources. The long-term objectives are to establish a library consisting of hundreds of crude plant samples and characterizing their peroxidase activities with regard to their abundance, stability and potential for use in biotechnological applications. Currently, the prototypical member of this family, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), is used for hundreds of applications, including large-scale biocatalysis, biomedical diagnostics (ELISA, western blotting etc..), biosensor technology, water treatment and a host of others. Limitations related to HRP in terms of stability, sensitivity to harsh conditions and non-selective activity suggest that a library of the type being developed would have great potential value in improving current applications and in the development of novel applications for this class of enzymes.
Professional Memberships
- American Chemical Society
- VA Academy of Sciences
- American Society of Pharmacognosy
Publications