Agre, Peter

Peter Agre, (born January 30, 1949, Northfield, Minnesota, U.S.), American doctor, corecipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2003 for his discovery of water channels in cell membranes. He shared the award with Roderick MacKinnon, also of the United States.

In 1974 Agre earned an M.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1981, following postgraduate training and a fellowship, he returned to Johns Hopkins, where in 1993 he advanced to professor of biological chemistry. In 2008 he became director of the school’s Malaria Research Institute. Agre also served as vice-chancellor for science and technology at Duke University Medical Center (2005–08).

In the 1980s Agre began conducting his pioneering research on water channels in cell membranes. First mentioned by scientists in the mid-1800s, these specialized openings allow water to flow in and out of cells. They are essential to living organisms, and scientists sought to find the channels, determine their structure, and understand how they worked. In 1988 Agre was able to isolate a type of protein molecule in the cell membrane that he later came to realize was the long-sought water channel. His research included comparing how cells with and without the protein in their membranes responded when placed in a water solution. He discovered that cells with the protein swelled up as water flowed in, while those lacking the protein remained the same size. Agre named the protein aquaporin. Researchers subsequently discovered a whole family of the proteins in animals, plants, and even bacteria. Two different aquaporins were later found to play a major role in the mechanism by which human kidneys concentrate urine and return the extracted water to the blood.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, Agre’s honours include election to the National Academy of Sciences (2000) and to the American Academy of Arts and Science (2003). He also headed various organizations, notably the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (2009–10).