He developed an early interest for science and the mysterious, which he attributes to television series such as Jonny Quest and later In Search of....[6] Discouraged from pursuing higher education by a high school guidance counselor ("kids like you don't go to college"), Regal joined the armed forces, serving as a tank commander.
He teaches at Kean University, where he holds the title of Associate Professor for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine.
[8] Regal has long been interested on how theories of human evolution have been received by the public and by religious authorities.
His first two books, Henry Fairfield Osborn: Race and the Search for the Origins of Man and Human Evolution: A Guide to the Debates, explore that theme.
[9] In 2005, he realized that Grover Krantz's estate donated his notes and papers to the Smithsonian Institution after his death in 2002, where they remained unread.