Skip to main content

Charmaine DM Royal

Robert O. Keohane Professor of African & African American Studies
African & African American Studies
Duke Box 90252, Durham, NC 27708
234 Friedl Bldg, Box 90252, Durham, NC 27708-0141
Office hours By appointment  

Overview


Charmaine Royal is the Robert O. Keohane Professor of African & African American Studies, Biology, Global Health, and Family Medicine & Community Health at Duke University. 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 focus on ethical, social, scientific, and clinical implications of human genetics and genomics, with an emphasis on issues at the intersection of genetics and race. Her specific interests and primary areas of work include genetics and genomics in African and African Diaspora populations; sickle cell disease and trait; public and professional perspectives and practices regarding race, ethnicity, and ancestry; genetic ancestry inference; and genotype-environment interplay. A fundamental aim of her work is to dismantle ideologies and systems of racial hierarchy in science, healthcare, and society. She serves on numerous national and international advisory boards and committees for government agencies, professional organizations, research initiatives, not-for-profit entities, and corporations.

Dr. Royal obtained a bachelor’s degree in microbiology, master’s degree 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.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Robert O. Keohane Professor of African & African American Studies · 2021 - Present African & African American Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of African and African American Studies · 2020 - Present African & African American Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Director of the Duke Center on Genomics, Race, Identity, Difference (GRID) · 2022 - Present Center on Genomics, Race, Identity, Difference, Social Science Research Institute
Director of the Duke Center for Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) · 2022 - Present Social Science Research Institute, University Institutes and Centers
Professor of Biology · 2020 - Present Biology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Research Professor of Global Health · 2020 - Present Duke Global Health Institute, University Institutes and Centers
Professor in Family Medicine and Community Health · 2020 - Present Family Medicine and Community Health, Community Health, Family Medicine and Community Health
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society · 2017 - Present Duke Science & Society, Initiatives

Education, Training & Certifications


Howard University · 1997 Ph.D.
Howard University · 1992 M.S.