Charmaine Royal facts for kids

Charmaine DM Royal is a scientist from Jamaica and the United States. She is a professor at Duke University. She teaches about African & African American Studies, Biology, Global Health, and Family Medicine.

Professor Royal studies how our background, like our family history and where we come from, connects with our genes and our health. She especially focuses on groups of people who haven't always had a fair chance in science. Her main goal is to find solutions for problems related to race and fairness in research, healthcare, and society. She is also an expert for the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) group. This group helps with health research in Africa. In 2020, she was a special visiting professor at the University of Iowa.

Early Life and Education

Charmaine Royal studied at Howard University. She earned her first degree in microbiology. This is the study of very tiny living things. In 1992, she earned a master's degree in genetic counseling. This means she learned how to help people understand their genes and health risks. In 1997, she earned her doctorate in human genetics. This is the study of human genes.

After Howard University, she had special training at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This training was in bioethics. Bioethics is about thinking about the right and wrong ways to use science, especially when it comes to genes. She also trained in behavioral medicine and epidemiology at the Howard University Cancer Center.

Research and Career

Professor Royal researches how race, fairness, and genetics affect health differences. She looks at these issues both in the United States and around the world.

When she worked at the National Human Genome Center at Howard University, she was part of the International HapMap Project. This project helped scientists understand human genetic variation. She worked with Charles Rotimi, who is also a leader in H3Africa. Her research looked at the genes and health of African Americans. She also studied the ethical questions that come up when looking into African American family histories.

Academic Service and Contributions

During her time at Duke University, Professor Royal has held many important roles. She has been a professor in different departments. These include African & African American Studies, Family Medicine & Community Health, Global Health, and Biology.

She is also a key member of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society. This group explores how science affects society. She works at the Social Science Research Institute. There, she leads the Center for Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation. This center works to address issues of race and fairness. She also leads the Center on Genomics, Race, Identity, Difference.

Professor Royal is a senior fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics. She was a special visiting professor at the University of Iowa in 2020. She also helps advise the Jackson Heart Study Community Ethics Advisory Board. She was a contributing member of the 1000 Genomes Project Consortium. This project created a detailed map of human genetic variation. She also serves on the Ethics Advisory Board at Illumina, Inc..

Awards and Honors

• In 2009, she was named a Greenwall Faculty Scholar in Bioethics at Duke University.
• In 2013, she received the Thomas Langford Lectureship Award from Duke University.