Charmaine Royal
Robert O. Keohane Professor of African & African American Studies, Biology, Global Health, and Family Medicine & Community Health

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charmaine.royal@duke.edu(919) 668-6515
1316 Campus Drive, 234 Ernestine Friedl Building, Box 90252, Durham, NC 27708
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Charmaine Royal
Robert O. Keohane Professor of African & African American Studies, Biology, Global Health, and Family Medicine & Community Health
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, particularly 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.
Publications
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Bulgin D, Asnani M, Vorderstrasse A, Royal C, Pan W, Tanabe P. Stigma and quality of life in adults with sickle cell disease in Jamaica and the United States. Psychology, health & medicine. 2023 Jun;28(5):1133–47.Wagner JK, Yu J-H, Fullwiley D, Moore C, Wilson JF, Bamshad MJ, et al. Guidelines for genetic ancestry inference created through roundtable discussions. HGG advances. 2023 Apr;4(2):100178.Royal CDM. Science, Society, and Dismantling Racism. Health equity. 2023 Jan;7(1):38–44.Callier SL, Payne PW, Akinniyi D, McPartland K, Richardson TL, Rothstein MA, et al. Cardiologists' Perspectives on BiDil and the Use of Race in Drug Prescribing. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities. 2022 Dec;9(6):2146–56.
See more publications at Scholars@Duke