Peter Agre - Biography

Biography

Agre was born in Northfield, Minnesota, to a Norwegian American father and a mother of Swedish and Norwegian descent. He received his B.A. from Augsburg College in Minneapolis and his M.D. in 1974 from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. From 1975 to 1978 he completed his clinical training in Internal Medicine at Case Western Reserve University's Case Medical Center under Charles C.J. Carpenter. He served as the Vice Chancellor for science and technology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, where he guided the development of Duke's biomedical research. Agre leads the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (JHMRI). Agre became director at JHMRI and joined the faculty of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health on January 1, 2008. He was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 2000 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003. He is also a founding member of Scientists and Engineers for America (SEA).

Agre is an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA). Two of his brothers are also physicians, and they and his son Clarke are also Eagle Scouts.

Agre enjoys cross-country skiing and has participated in the Vasaloppet ski race.

Agre is known among science students for his humanity and humility. One of the reasons he gives for this is the grade of "D" Agre received in his first chemistry class, despite having a father who was a chemistry professor. He also notes that his prize-winning research was originally an investigation of the molecular identity of the human blood Rh factor, and his initial discovery of aquaporins was purely serendipitous. He appeared on The Colbert Report, discussing SEA, sound science in politics, and the decline of American knowledge of science, among other topics.