George C. Royal

Dr. Gladys Royal (left), Dr. W. E. Reed (left center), R. L. Satoera (right center) and Dr. George Royal (right), with x-ray equipment, North Carolina A&T College, 1961

George Calvin Royal Jr (August 5, 1921 - November 24, 2016) was an American microbiologist. George C. Royal was also part of one of the few African-American husband-and-wife teams in science, working with Gladys W. Royal, Ph.D. on research supported by the United States Atomic Energy Commission. George C. Royal is a professor emeritus at Howard University.

Early life Royal was born in Williamston, South Carolina,

Ph.D and beyond In 1955 Royal gained admission to the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his Ph.D. in microbiology as a predoctoral fellow in 1957. Royal was associate and professor of Bacteriology at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro from 1957 to 1965; and in 1959 he served a summer research fellowship for the United States Atomic Energy Commission, Biology Division, at Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies. He was the dean of the Graduate School at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro from 1961 to 1965. Following a postdoctoral study in allergy and hypersensitivity and an assistant professorship in Microbiology at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia from 1965 to 1966, he joined the faculty of Howard University from 1966 to 1993. He became professor emeritus in 1993. The Royals would collaborate on important research including that funded by the United States Atomic Energy Commission involving bone marrow transplants to treat radiation overdoses.

African-American husband-and-wife teams in science were extremely rare in the early and mid-20th century due to the social, educational and economic climate regarding African Americans in the United States.

Research The Atomic Energy Commission supported at least five grants for funding research on bone marrow transplants, which were proposed jointly by George and Gladys W. Royal. with Dr. Arvind Nandedkar to study antigenic compounds associated with Candida albicans; with Dr. Robert Watkins and Dr. Arvind Nandedkar to develop antibodies to nortriptyline as a method of reducing toxicity; and with Dr. Richard Garden in the department of Oral Surgery to study the effects of Chlorhexidine on the growth of clinical isolates of Candida species.

Positions Dean of the Graduate School North Carolina A&T College 1961-65 Member of the American Academy of Microbiology, 1979 Department chair, Howard University Department of Microbiology 1987–1989

Descendants Royal had six children: George Calvin Royal III, Michelle Renee McNear, and Eric Marcus Royal.