Charmaine DM Royal, PhD
Charmaine Royal is Professor of African & African American Studies, Biology, Global Health, and Family Medicine & Community Health at Duke University. She also has appointments in the Duke Initiative for Science & Society and the Kenan Institute for Ethics. She directs the Duke Center on Genomics, Race, Identity, Difference and the Duke Center for Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation.
Dr. Royal’s research, scholarship, and teaching are transdisciplinary and global, focusing on ethical, social, scientific, and clinical implications of genetics and genomics, particularly issues at the intersection of genetics and ‘race’. A fundamental goal of her work is to dismantle ideologies and systems of ‘race’ and racism in research, healthcare, and society. She serves as an advisor on numerous professional committees and boards including the Board of Directors of the American Society of Human Genetics and the International Scientific Advisory Board of the West African Genetic Medicine Center.
Dr. Royal obtained her bachelor’s degree in microbiology, master’s in genetic counseling, and doctorate in human genetics from Howard University. She completed postgraduate training in ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) research and bioethics at the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health, and in epidemiology and behavioral medicine at Howard University Cancer Center.