Peter Agre

Peter Agre

Peter Agre (born January 30, 1949) is an American physician, biologist, and Nobel laureate in Chemistry. He is best known for his discovery of aquaporins, a family of water channel proteins that facilitate the transport of water across cell membranes.

Early Life and Education

Peter Agre was born in Northfield, Minnesota. He attended Roosevelt High School (Minneapolis), and later graduated from Augsburg University in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry. He earned his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1974.

Career

After completing his medical degree, Agre did his residency at Case Western Reserve University Hospitals and his fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He joined the faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1981, where he began his groundbreaking research on aquaporins.

Discovery of Aquaporins

In 1992, Agre and his colleagues identified the first aquaporin, which they named Aquaporin-1. This discovery was pivotal in understanding how water is transported in and out of cells, and it has significant implications for the study of kidney function, brain edema, and other medical conditions.

Awards and Honors

Peter Agre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2003, which he shared with Roderick MacKinnon for their discoveries concerning channels in cell membranes. Agre has also received numerous other awards, including the Lasker Award and the American Society for Clinical Investigation's Award.

Personal Life

Agre is married to Mary Yvonne Agre, and they have three children. He is known for his advocacy in science education and his efforts to promote scientific collaboration internationally.

See Also

• Aquaporin
• Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
• Lasker Award