Charmaine Royal

Charmaine DM Royal is a Senior Fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics and an associate professor of African & African American Studies, Biology, and Community & Family Medicine at Duke. She is also core faculty in the Duke Initiative for Science and Society and faculty affiliate in the Duke Global Health Institute.

Her research, scholarship, and teaching focus on ethical and social issues in genetics and genomics on a global scale, particularly the intersection of “race” and genetics, its policy implications, and practical interventions. She serves on several national and international professional committees and boards related to these topics. She directs the Duke Center on Genomics, Race, Identity, Difference (GRID) that aims to inform and transform the concepts, uses, and impacts of “race” in research, healthcare, and society.

She received an MA in genetic counseling and a PhD in human genetics from Howard University. She completed postgraduate training in bioethics and ELSI (ethical, legal, and social implications) research at the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health, and in epidemiology and behavioral medicine at Howard University Cancer Center.

charmaine.royal@duke.edu
234 Ernestine Friedl Building, Box 90252
1316 Campus Drive
Durham, NC 27708
919-668-6515