View source for Peter Agre

{{Short description|American physician and academic (born 1949)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Peter Agre
| image             = Peter Agre (cropped).jpg
| image_size        = 
| caption           = Agre in 2003
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1949|1|30}}
| birth_place       = [[Northfield, Minnesota]], U.S.
| field             = [[Medicine]]<br />[[Chemistry]]<br />[[Biochemistry]]
| workplaces        = Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute <br /> [[Duke University]] <br/> Case Western Reserve
| education         = [[Augsburg College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />[[Johns Hopkins School of Medicine|Johns Hopkins University]] ([[M. D.|MD]])
| doctoral_advisor  = 
| doctoral_students = 
| known_for         = [[Aquaporins]]
| prizes            = [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] (2003) [[Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships]] (2014)
}}
'''Peter Agre''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɑː|g|r|iː|}}; born January 30, 1949) is a [[Nobel Laureate]] American physician, molecular biologist, [[Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships|Bloomberg Distinguished Professor]] at the [[Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health]] and [[Johns Hopkins School of Medicine]], and director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. In 2003, Agre and [[Roderick MacKinnon]] shared the 2003 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] for "discoveries concerning channels in cell membranes."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2003/ |title=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2003 |website=www.nobelprize.org |access-date=2018-03-21}}</ref> Agre was recognized for his discovery of [[aquaporin]] water channels.<ref>{{Nobelprize}} including the Nobel Lecture ''Aquaporin Water Channels''</ref> Aquaporins are water-channel proteins that move [[water molecule]]s through the [[cell membrane]]. In 2009, Agre was elected president of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] (AAAS) and became active in [[science diplomacy]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Earl Lane |title=Agre, Pickering: Science Diplomacy a "Critical Tool" in U.S. Foreign Policy |url=http://www.aaas.org/news/agre-pickering-science-diplomacy-%E2%80%9Ccritical-tool%E2%80%9D-us-foreign-policy |publisher=[[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] |year=2010 |access-date=2016-08-20}}</ref>

==Biography==
Agre was born in [[Northfield, Minnesota]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rothman |first1=Paul B. |title=Introduction of Peter Agre |journal=The Journal of Clinical Investigation |publisher=National Library of Medicine |pages=4735–4741 |doi=10.1172/JCI91686 |date=1 December 2016 |volume=126 |issue=12 |pmid=27906692 |pmc=5127675 }}</ref> and is the second of six children to parents of [[Norwegian people|Norwegian]] and [[Swedes|Swedish]] descent. Agre is a [[Lutheran]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nndb.com/people/868/000100568/ |title=Peter Agre |website=www.nndb.com |access-date=2018-03-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mirsky |first=Steve |title=Nobel Laureate Peter Agre: From Aquaporins to Lutefisk |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=nobel-laureate-peter-agre-from-aqua-11-07-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625132245/https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/nobel-laureate-peter-agre-from-aqua-11-07-20/ |archive-date=2023-06-25 |access-date=2018-03-21 |work=Scientific American |language=en}}</ref> Fascinated by international travel after a high school camping trip through the Soviet Union, Agre was an inconsistent student until he developed an interest in science from his father who was a college chemistry professor.<ref name="May2lecture">P. Agre, (May 2, 2008), lecture presented in Cellular Biology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.</ref><ref name="nobelprize2003">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2003/agre/biographical/ |title=Peter Agre – Biographical |website=www.nobelprize.org |access-date=2018-03-21}}</ref>

Agre graduated from [[Roosevelt High School (Minnesota)]]<ref>{{Citation | title = Minnesota native wins Nobel Prize for chemistry | newspaper = [[Minnesota Public Radio]] | date = October 8, 2003 | url =http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2003/10/08_olsond_nobelwinner/ | access-date = 2008-12-08 }}</ref> before he received his B.A. in [[Chemistry]] from [[Augsburg University]] in [[Minneapolis]] and his [[Doctor of Medicine|M.D.]] in 1974 from the [[Johns Hopkins School of Medicine]] in [[Baltimore]], Maryland. From 1975 to 1978, he completed his clinical training in Internal Medicine at [[Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine|Case Western Reserve University]]'s [[University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center|Case Medical Center]] under Charles C.J. Carpenter. He subsequently did a Hematology-Oncology fellowship at North Carolina Memorial Hospital of [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|UNC Chapel Hill]]. In 1981, Agre returned to the [[Johns Hopkins School of Medicine]] to join the lab of Vann Bennett in the Department of Cell Biology.<ref name="nobelprize2003"/>

In 1984, Agre was recruited to the faculty of the Department of Medicine led by [[Victor A. McKusick]]. He subsequently joined the Department of Biological Chemistry led by Dan Lane. Agre rose to full professor in 1992 and remained at Johns Hopkins until 2005. Agre then 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. In 2008, he returned to Johns Hopkins, where he directs the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (JHMRI) in the [[Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health]] and holds a joint appointment in the [[Johns Hopkins School of Medicine]].<ref name="JHBSPS">{{cite web |url=http://www.jhsph.edu/publichealthnews/press_releases/2007/agre_jhmri.html |title=Nobel Laureate Peter Agre to Lead Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute |date=2007-10-24 |publisher=Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health |access-date=2008-07-16}}</ref>

In 2004, Agre received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration}}</ref> In February 2014, he was named a [[Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships|Bloomberg Distinguished Professor]] at [[Johns Hopkins University]] for his accomplishments as an interdisciplinary researcher and excellence in teaching the next generation of scholars.<ref>{{cite web |title=Event information |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/events/nobel-week-dialogue/stockholm-2018/panellists/peter-agre/ |website=NobelPrize.org |publisher=Nobel Prize organisation}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=With Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships, Johns Hopkins aims to foster cross-specialty collaboration 2014 |url=http://hub.jhu.edu/2014/02/17/bloomberg-distinguished-professors |date=2014-02-17}}</ref> The Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships were established in 2013 by a gift from [[Michael Bloomberg]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Michael R. Bloomberg Commits $350 Million to Johns Hopkins for Transformational Academic Initiative 2013 |url=http://releases.jhu.edu/2013/01/26/michael-r-bloomberg-commits-350-million-to-johns-hopkins/}}</ref>

===Personal life===
Agre and his wife, Mary, have been married since 1975. They have three daughters, one son, and two young granddaughters.<ref name="nobelprize2003"/> Agre is an [[Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)|Eagle Scout]] and recipient of the [[Distinguished Eagle Scout Award]] (DESA).<ref>{{cite web |last=Lupton |first=Neil |year=2005 |url=http://listserv.tcu.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0505&L=scouts-l&D=1&P=71705 |title=Scouts-L Youth Group List |publisher=Listerv |access-date=2006-06-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Daniel |first=Douglass K. |year=2004 |url=http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0405/d-news.html |title=Scouter Peter Agre Places a Nobel Prize Alongside His Eagle Award (with photo of both) |work=Scouting Magazine |publisher=Boy Scouts of America |access-date=2006-06-01}}</ref>  Two of his brothers, also physicians, and his son Clarke, a public defender, are also Eagle Scouts.<ref name="eagletter">{{cite journal |title=Distinguished Eagle Scout Award Profile – Dr. Peter Agre |journal=Eagletter |date=Winter 2006 |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=8–9}}</ref> Agre enjoys wilderness canoeing in the arctic and [[cross-country skiing]], having completed the 60 mile [[Vasaloppet]] ski race in Sweden five times.<ref>Agre, Peter [http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(08)60154-3.pdf “Lifeline”], "[[The Lancet]]", London, January 26, 2008. Retrieved August 20, 2016.</ref> Diagnosed with [[Parkinson's disease]] in 2012, Agre has had to reduce his activities.

"I identify more with Huckleberry Finn than with Albert Einstein," he told Scouting magazine.<ref>[http://scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0405/d-news.html Scouter Peter Agre Places a Nobel Prize Alongside His Eagle Award, By Douglass K. Daniel]</ref>

Agre is known among science students for his humanity and humility.<ref>{{cite web |last=McGregor |first=Steve |year=2005 |url=https://news.utdallas.edu/campus-community/nobel-laureate-to-pitch-science-as-fun-to-1000-metroplex-high-school-students/ |title=Nobel Laureate to Pitch Science as Fun |publisher=U. of Texas – Dallas |access-date=2006-06-01}}</ref> He appeared on ''[[The Colbert Report]]'', discussing his role as a founding member of Scientists and Engineers for America (SEA), sound science in politics, and the decline of [[United States|American]] knowledge of science, among other topics.

==Awards and recognition==
In addition to the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Agre was elected to membership in the [[National Academy of Sciences]] in 2000, the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 2003, the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 2004,<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Peter+Agre&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-06-09|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> the [[National Academy of Medicine]] in 2005, and the [[American Society for Microbiology]] in 2011.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web |title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A |url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf |publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences |access-date=April 6, 2011}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web |url=http://academy.asm.org/index.php/fellows-info/fellows-elected-in-2011/625-peter-agre |title=ASM Conference on Streptococcal Genetics |last=asmadmin |website=academy.asm.org |language=en-gb |access-date=2018-03-21}}</ref> Agre has received 19 honorary doctorates from universities around the world, including Japan, Norway, Greece, Mexico, Hungary, and the United States.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

==Biomedical research==
As a Johns Hopkins medical student in the early 1970s, Agre worked in the labs of Brad Sack and [[Pedro Cuatrecasas]] where he investigated the [[enterotoxin]]-induced [[diarrhea]] that caused [[dehydration]] and death of small children in developing countries.<ref name="nobelprize1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2003/agre-bio.html |title=Peter Agre – Biographical |website=www.nobelprize.org |access-date=2018-03-21}}</ref> After clinical training, Agre joined Vann Bennett's lab in the Cell Biology Department at Johns Hopkins where he studied red cell [[Cell membrane|membranes]] and identified [[spectrin]] deficiency as a common cause of [[hereditary spherocytosis]], a [[hemolytic anemia]] with fragile, spherically shaped red cells.<ref>Agre, Peter [https://www.jci.org/articles/view/113284/version/1/pdf/render "Reductions of Erythrocyte Membrane Viscoelastic Coefficients Reflect Spectrin Deficiencies in Hereditary Spherocytosis"], "[[Journal of Clinical Investigation]]", Ann Arbor, January 1, 1988. Retrieved August 20, 2016.</ref> In 1984, Agre joined the Department of Medicine, where he built his own research program and first isolated the 32 kilodalton core subunit of the Rhesus [[blood group antigen]], [[RHD (gene)|RhD]].<ref>Agre, Peter [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1907207 “Molecular biology of the Rh antigens.”], "[[Blood (journal)|Blood]]", Washington DC, August 1, 1991. Retrieved August 20, 2016.</ref>

===Aquaporins===
While studying [[RHD (gene)|RhD]], Agre's team serendipitously discovered a 28 kilodalton red cell membrane protein. Also abundant in [[kidney tubules]], the 28 kDa protein was related to proteins from diverse origins, including fruit fly brain, [[Mammalian eye|mammalian lens]], [[bacteria]], and plants.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2003/popular.html |title=The 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry – Popular Information |website=www.nobelprize.org |access-date=2018-03-21}}</ref> Since the function was unknown, Agre consulted John C. Parker, his former hematology professor at the [[University of North Carolina]], who suggested that the protein may be the long-sought water channel responsible for rapid movements of water across the membranes of red cells and certain other cell types.

Teaming up with William Guggino at the Department of Physiology at Johns Hopkins, Agre's postdoctoral fellow Gregory Preston confirmed water channel function by expressing the cRNA in [[African clawed frog|''Xenopus laevis'']] oocytes (frog eggs) that then became osmotically active and exploded in fresh water. The 28 kDa protein is now known as [[Aquaporin 1|aquaporin-1]] (abbreviated AQP1), the archetypal member of a large family of water channel proteins. Aquaporins are "the plumbing system for cells," said Agre. Every cell is primarily water. "But the water doesn't just sit in the cell, it moves through it in a very organized way. The process occurs rapidly in tissues that have these aquaporins or water channels." For 100 years, scientists assumed that water leaked through the cell membrane, and some water does. "But the very rapid movement of water through some cells was not explained by this theory," said Agre.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.youris.com/Nano/Environment/YourisCom_Meets_Peter_Agre.kl |title=Interwiew with Peter Agre awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of aquaporin |website=www.youris.com |language=en-GB |access-date=2018-03-21}}</ref>

Agre's team and others identified paralogs in different tissues, and twelve [[aquaporins]] exist in humans. Permeated by water, aquaporins are required for generation of [[cerebrospinal fluid]], [[aqueous humour]], [[tears]], [[sweat]], [[saliva]], humidification of airways, and renal concentration. Defects include [[cerebral edema]], [[dry eye]], [[anhydrosis]], [[dehydration]] and [[water retention (medicine)|water retention]]. Permeated by water plus [[glycerol]], aquaglyceroporins confer glycerol uptake to the basal level of skin, glycerol release from fat during fasting, and glycerol uptake by liver where it is converted to glucose. Aquaporins and aquaglyceroporins exist in all life forms including [[invertebrates]], [[plants]], [[microbes]], [[archaea]], and [[parasites]] including the [[plasmodia]] that cause [[malaria]].<ref name="nytimes1">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/science/27agre.html A Conversation With Peter Agre: Using a Leadership Role to Put a Human Face on Science], By [[Claudia Dreifus]], [[New York Times]], January 26, 2009</ref>
[[File:AgreLindau.png|thumb|left|Peter Agre lecturing on malaria at the 61st Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany]]

===2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry===
In October 2003, it was announced that the Nobel Prize in Chemistry would go to two medical doctors, Peter Agre and [[Roderick MacKinnon]], "for discoveries concerning channels in cell membranes."<ref>{{cite news |title=MacKinnon Wins 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry |url=https://www.hhmi.org/news/mackinnon-wins-2003-nobel-prize-chemistry |work=www.hhmi.org |language=en}}</ref> Credited for discovery of the aquaporin water channels, Agre was in bed at 5:30 am when the call came from Stockholm. Upon learning the news later, his mother responded, "That's very nice but don't let it go to his head."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/04/science/where-where-you-nobel-prize-call-stories.html Nobel Prize Winning Scientists Reflect on Nearly Sleeping Through the Life-Changing Call], By [[Claudia Dreifus]], [[New York Times]], October 4, 2015</ref> MacKinnon, credited with solving the structure and selectivity of potassium channels, was traveling back from a weekend fishing trip and only learned the news from colleagues.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

===Malaria===
Long interested in diseases of the developing world,<ref name="nobelprize1"/> Agre and his team investigated aquaporins in [[malaria]] parasites, malaria [[mosquitoes]], and [[cerebral malaria]]. In 2008, Agre became Director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (JHMRI) at the [[Bloomberg School of Public Health]]. Launched in 2001 by a gift from [[Michael Bloomberg]] and the Bloomberg Philanthropies,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.mikebloomberg.com/news/johns-hopkins-malaria-research-institute-marks-10th-anniversary/ |title=Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute Marks 10th Anniversary – Mike Bloomberg |date=2011-11-16 |work=Mike Bloomberg |access-date=2018-03-21 |language=en-US}}</ref> JHMRI includes 20 faculty members<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://malaria.jhsph.edu/our-people/ |title=Our People |last=Driver |first=Kelly |website=Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health |language=en-US |access-date=2018-03-21}}</ref> whose lab efforts include development of mosquitoes resistant to malaria transmission, design of novel malaria vaccines, biological studies of potential malaria drug targets and search for novel anti-malarial medicines.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://malaria.jhsph.edu/research/ |title=Research |last=Driver |first=Kelly |website=Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health |language=en-US |access-date=2018-03-21}}</ref>

[[File:JHMRIZambia.jpg|thumb|right|A Zambian villager holding his grandson whose life was saved by Dr. Philip Thuma. Afflicted with cerebral malaria, the child was near death but was left with permanent blindness.]]
Fieldwork in rural Africa is central to the JHMRI mission. A long-term partnership was initiated in 2003 with Macha Research Trust, a faith-based research program led by Dr. Philip Thuma that is affiliated with a former mission hospital in rural southern Zambia. With resources from JHMRI, a small modern research campus was constructed where African scientists and visiting scientists from Johns Hopkins are studying malaria drug resistance, mosquito insecticide resistance, and rates of malaria transmission. Since introduction of artemisinin combination therapy in 2003 and distribution of insecticide treated bed nets in 2007, the burden of malaria in small children has declined in Macha by 96%.<ref>Saslow, Rachel [https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health/qanda-with-peter-agre-malaria-scientist/2011/02/22/AFCvrWeC_story.html “Q&A with Peter Agre, malaria scientist.”], "[[The Washington Post]]", Washington DC, April 4, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2016.</ref>

Receipt of an International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research Award (ICEMR) from the US [[National Institutes of Health]] in 2010 allowed expansion of the JHMRI program in Africa.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.niaid.nih.gov/LabsAndResources/resources/icemr/centers/Pages/default.aspx |title=International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research, Regional Centers, NIAID, NIH |access-date=2016-08-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821101439/https://www.niaid.nih.gov/LabsAndResources/resources/icemr/centers/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=2016-08-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref> New field sites were organized in partnership with African agencies in northern [[Zambia]] and southeastern [[Democratic Republic of Congo]], where malaria control has failed, and in eastern [[Zimbabwe]] at the border of [[Mozambique]], where malaria has become resurgent.

== Science diplomacy ==
While serving from 2009 to 2011 as president and chair of the board of advisors of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]], Agre became very active in the AAAS Center for Science Diplomacy. Working with AAAS Chief International Officer, Vaughan Turekian, and former Scientific Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State, [[Norman P. Neureiter]], Agre led a series of science diplomacy visits to countries with adversarial relationships to the U.S.<ref>[https://www.science.org/content/article/nobel-prize-third-world-medicine-interview-peter-agre From the Nobel Prize to Third World Medicine: An Interview With Peter Agre], By Kate Travis, [[Science (journal)|Science]], June 10, 2011</ref> The objective of each trip was to foster exchanges and collaborations on peaceful scientific projects and thereby reduce tensions.<ref name="nytimes1"/><ref>[http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2016/01/science-diplomacy-focus-of-nobel-laureate-agre-discovery-lecture/ ‘Science diplomacy’ focus of Nobel laureate Agre’s Discovery Lecture], By Bill Snyder, Vanderbilt, January 14, 2016</ref>

===Cuba===
The governments of Cuba and the US have maintained a hostile relationship made worse by the embargo that prevented the import of essential goods, equipment and even medicines. The inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009 led to a liberalized interpretation of restrictions by the U.S. government allowing scientific and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
[[File:JesseLazearPlaque.jpg|thumb|left|Plaque commemorating the collaboration of Cuban scientist Carlos Finlay and Johns Hopkins scientist Jesse Lazear in the Cuban Academy of Sciences by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Advisory Board visit to Havana in February 2015]]

In November 2009, Agre made the first of six trips to Cuba when he led a group of scientists from AAAS to Havana. Two years later, Agre led an extensive series of visits to the [[Cuban Academy of Sciences]] and leading Cuban scientific institutions including the institutes for [[biotechnology]], pharmaceutical and vaccine development, a teaching hospital and [[ELAM (Latin American School of Medicine) Cuba]]. Invited to lecture at the [[University of Havana]], Agre also met with Fidel Castro who discussed numerous topics including the need for universal health care as one cause for the Cuban Revolution. Agre subsequently led another AAAS visit and served as Honorary President of Biotecnologia Habana 2012 and Plenary Lecturer at Quimcuba 2015.<ref>[http://www.aaas.org/news/oceans-weather-health%E2%80%94us-researchers-explore-potential-collaboration-cuban-colleagues Oceans, Weather, Health—U.S. Researchers Explore Potential Collaboration with Cuban Colleagues], By Edward W. Lempinen, [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]], May 1, 2012</ref>

Despite animosities, Cuba and the U.S. have had a long tradition of scientific interactions that dated from 1900. The outbreak of [[Yellow Fever]] at the time of the [[Spanish–American War]] resulted in the Yellow Fever Commission led by US Army Major [[Walter Reed]]. Working together, Cuban medical scientist, [[Carlos Finlay]], and a young Johns Hopkins faculty member, [[Jesse William Lazear]], proved for the first time that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes. In a fateful experiment, Lazear allowed himself to be bitten by mosquitoes that had fed upon yellow fever patients, and he died of the disease. This discovery led to conquest of Yellow Fever. Cuba always felt that Finlay and Lazear never received proper credit, an issue partially ameliorated by the 2015 visit by the Johns Hopkins Health Advisory Board and plaque unveiling.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://rising.jhu.edu/Cuba-Visit |title=Goodbye Baltimore, Hola Havana |website=rising.jhu.edu |language=en |access-date=2018-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916084508/https://rising.jhu.edu/Cuba-Visit |archive-date=September 16, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)===
[[File:AgreDPRK.jpg|thumb|left|Peter Agre in 2009 presenting his Johns Hopkins necktie to the Vice President of the DPRK State Academy of Science. The tie worn by Agre during his 2003 Nobel lecture in Stockholm is to be presented to the first DPRK scientist who wins a Nobel Prize.]]Referred to as the "Hermit Kingdom," the [[DPRK]] has been nearly totally isolated from the world since the negotiated ceasefire in 1953. Requests for entry by US organizations were rebuffed. Working through the DPRK Ambassador to the UN, an invitation was issued to the Nobel Laureate-led AAAS team in partnership with [[CRDF Global]] for a visit hosted by the DPRK State Academy of Sciences in December 2009.<ref>[http://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-president-peter-agre-leads-delegation-democratic-people%E2%80%99s-republic-korea-talks-academic AAAS President Peter Agre Leads Delegation to Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for Talks on Academic Science Collaboration], By AAAS Staff Report, [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]], December 9, 2009</ref> Avoiding issues related to weapons development, requests to visit 15 research institutes, universities, the Grand People's Study House, and a hospital were all granted. In most cases, the leadership of these institutions had never seen or met an American previously.<ref>[http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100120/full/463281a.html The scientific diplomat: AAAS president Peter Agre talks to Nature about his recent visits to Cuba and North Korea], By David Cyranowski, [[Nature (journal)|Nature]], January 20, 2010</ref> Potential future scientific collaboration in the life sciences such as medicine development and agricultural research received extensive and enthusiastic discussion. A follow-up visits by DPRK scientific leadership to the AAAS – CRDF team occurred 15 months later at the Carter Center in Atlanta.

[[File:AgrePUST.jpg|thumb|right|Peter Agre visiting the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology in 2009]]
A meeting occurred with the leadership of the [[Pyongyang University of Science and Technology]] (PUST), a private university founded by a Korean-born American businessman. The only English language university in DPRK, PUST draws outstanding undergraduate and graduate students from DPRK and volunteer faculty from abroad.<ref>[http://www.tedmed.com/talks/show?id=7257 What turns a scientist into a good-will ambassador?] By Peter Agre, TEDMED 2011, October 26, 2011</ref> Opening in 2010, PUST is the only campus where westerners can mingle with students in DPRK. Agre provided keynote plenary lectures to the first International Science Symposium at PUST in 2011 and the third symposium in 2015. Invited to participate in a tour of multiple DPRK universities by four Nobel Laureates in 2016, Agre was unable to attend due to a hospitalization. It would have been his fourth trip to the country.<ref>[https://www.voanews.com/a/nobel-laureate-lead-science-diplomacy-mission-north-korea/3040965.html US Nobel Laureate to Lead Science Diplomacy Mission to N. Korea], By Baik Sungwon, [[Voice of America]], November 5, 2015</ref>

===Myanmar (Burma)===
A visit by Agre and the AAAS Science Diplomacy team to [[Myanmar]] occurred in April 2010. Travel was made to the new capital, [[Naypyidaw]], for formal meetings with the Ministry of Forestry and Ministry of Health to discuss malaria. A meeting with faculty of [[University of Yangon]] was also held. Despite continued existence of the junta, an impending transition was evident, as meetings with the opposition were arranged in Yangon.<ref>[https://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-led-delegation-discusses-forestry-health-and-research-myanmar-st-leaders AAAS-Led Delegation Discusses Forestry, Health, and Research with Myanmar S&T Leaders], By Edward Lempinen, [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]], May 11, 2010</ref> Although [[Aung San Suu Kyi]] was unavailable as she was still under house arrest, her release occurred six months later, and Myanmar has made solid progress towards liberal democracy.<ref>[http://www.sciencediplomacy.org/files/bringing_health_research_to_the_renewed_u.s.-mayanmar_relationship_science__diplomacy.pdf Bringing Health Research to the Renewed U.S.-Myanmar Relationship], By Peter Agre et al, [[Science & Diplomacy]], June 1, 2012</ref>

===Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran)===
Meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister [[Ali Akbar Salehi]] at the New York residence of the Iranian Ambassador to the UN resulted in a June 2012 visit to Tehran by Agre and [[Norman P. Neureiter]]. Salehi, a PhD graduate of MIT and former head of the [[Atomic Energy Organization of Iran]], arranged for lectures in multiple universities in [[Tehran]] where Agre was appointed visiting professor at the [[Sharif University of Technology]] and a private meeting was held with President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]].<ref>[http://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-delegation-led-nobel-laureate-peter-agre-makes-%E2%80%9Cpositive%E2%80%9D-visit-iran AAAS Delegation, Led by Nobel Laureate Peter Agre, Makes “Positive” Visit to Iran], By Edward Lempinen, [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]], June 25, 2012</ref>

==Political activism==

===Thomas Butler Case===
As Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights of the [[National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www7.nationalacademies.org/humanrights/ |title=Committee on Human Rights (CHR) |website=www7.nationalacademies.org |access-date=2018-03-21}}</ref> Agre led a group of prominent scientists that defended [[Thomas C. Butler]], an [[infectious disease]] researcher from [[Texas Tech University]] who in January 2003 voluntarily reported to the university safety office that 30 vials of plague bacteria were missing and had probably been [[autoclave]]d or incinerated. Although Butler cooperated with FBI agents, he was accused of lying and was arrested. When he refused to plead guilty, federal prosecutors charged Butler with many confusing charges concerning grant accounting and sample shipping. Despite support from Agre and other scientists, Butler was convicted in a jury trial, lost his medical license, and served 2 years in prison.<ref name="Butler">{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/butler/ |title=In Support of Thomas C. Butler |date=2006-09-14 |publisher=Federation of American Scientists |access-date=2008-06-22}}</ref><ref>[http://www.cleveland.com/plague/plaindealer/index.ssf?/plague/more/1143970236115620.html Plagued by Fear] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607134100/http://www.cleveland.com/plague/plaindealer/index.ssf?%2Fplague%2Fmore%2F1143970236115620.html |date=2011-06-07 }} Cleveland Plain Dealer series</ref> Occurring at a time of large national fear following the 9/11 attacks, the incident has been seen by some as an overreaction by the FBI due to public fear of bioterrorism.<ref>Cheng, Kenneth [https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/19/us/30-plague-vials-put-career-on-line.html?pagewanted=all "30 Plague Vials Put Career on Line"], [[The New York Times]], New York, October 19, 2003.</ref>

===2008 Minnesota U.S. Senate race===
In the spring of 2007, Agre announced that he would explore the US Senate race in his home state of Minnesota being contested by two residents originally from New York – incumbent Sen. [[Norm Coleman]] and challenger comedian [[Al Franken]]. Agre emphasized health care and environmental issues rather than the Iraq war. He said, "The issues that were important to us at the millennium are still important today." He also felt that the [[US Senate]] would benefit from the perspective of a medical scientist.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nobel Prize-winning scientist considers challenging Coleman |website=[[Minnesota Public Radio]] |date=2007-05-18 |url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/05/18/agre/ |access-date=2007-06-04}}</ref>

Despite polls indicating that he could win, Agre announced in August 2007 that he would not enter the race for the Minnesota Senate seat, calculating the huge personal cost and the termination of his federally funded scientific research program and humanitarian service.<ref>[[Jonathan Turley|Turley, Jonathan]] [http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/2007-05-15-oplede_N.htm "The land of $9 million"], [[USA Today]], Washington DC, May 15, 2007.</ref><ref>Horrigan, Marie [https://www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/05/23/cq_2780.html?pagewanted=print "New Minnesota Senate Hopeful Comes from Science, Not Satire"], [[New York Times]], New York, May 23, 2007.</ref> An advocate for increased representation of science in government, he would not rule out the possibility of seeking public office in the future.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nobel-winning scientist won't run for Senate |publisher=Minnesota Public Radio |date=2007-08-29 |url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/08/29/agrenotrunning/ |access-date=2007-08-30}}</ref>

Although Barack Obama carried Minnesota by a landslide, the senate election was a statistical tie resulting in a recount and six months of legal fights before the Minnesota Supreme Court awarded [[Al Franken]] the victory by only 312 votes out of 2.9 million ballots cast. The outcome was important as Franken was sworn in as Senator in July 2009 and provided the 60th vote necessary to end debate on the Affordable Care Act.

===Other activism===
In addition to being a founding member of [[Scientists and Engineers for Change]], Agre was one of 48 Nobel laureates who signed a letter endorsing Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry for president. Agre criticized many policies of the Bush administration.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/10/01_scheckt_science |title=Nobel winner says Bush is politicizing science |last=Scheck |first=Tom |date=2004-10-04 |publisher=Minnesota Public Radio |access-date=2008-06-22}}</ref>

He has said that he admired [[Linus Pauling]], another Nobel laureate and peace activist.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Agre |first=Peter |date=December 10, 2013 |title=Fifty Years Ago: Linus Pauling and the Belated Nobel Peace Prize |url=https://www.sciencediplomacy.org/sites/default/files/fifty_years_ago-linus_pauling_and_the_belated_nobel_prize_science__diplomacy.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213004929/https://www.sciencediplomacy.org/letter-field/2013/fifty-years-ago-linus-pauling-and-belated-nobel-peace-prize |archive-date=February 13, 2014 |journal=[[Science & Diplomacy]] |volume=2 |issue=4}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Agre served on the transition team for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, helping forge science policy and answers to scientific policy questions posed by [[Science Debate 2008]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Keim|first=Brandon|date=2008-09-17|title=Obama Campaign Reveals Science Advisors|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2008/09/obama-campaign-8/|access-date=2020-05-11|issn=1059-1028}}</ref>

In 2015, Agre signed the ''[[Mainau Declaration|Mainau Declaration 2015 on Climate Change]]'' on the final day of the 65th [[Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings|Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting]]. The declaration was signed by a total of 76 Nobel Laureates and handed to then-President of the French Republic, [[François Hollande]], as part of the successful [[Paris Climate Change Conference|COP21 climate summit]] in Paris.

==See also==
* [[Roderick MacKinnon]]
* [[Gheorghe Benga]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.nobelprizeii.org/nobel-laureate/peter-agre/ Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative]
* [http://malaria.jhsph.edu/ Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute]
* [http://www.sciencediplomacy.org/editorial/2012/bringing-health-research-renewed-us-myanmar-relationship Bringing Health Research to the Renewed U.S.-Myanmar Relationship], June 2012, ''Science & Diplomacy''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051031112059/http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/press/2003/October/031008A.htm Johns Hopkins Media Story on his Nobel prize]
* [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2003/agre-lecture.html Agre Nobel Prize lecture]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182118/http://www.dailycardinal.com/article/736983 Nobel laureate: Gov't, science research clash post September 11] [[The Daily Cardinal]]
* [http://www.chronicle.duke.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/24/435cc4b1b5d60 Coverage of October 21, 2005 speech by ''The Chronicle'', Duke's student newspaper]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/76990/october-19-2006/peter-agre Video interview with Stephen Colbert] October 19, 2006
* [http://asia.it/adon.pl?act=doc&doc=938 Video intervista a Peter Agre] su Asia.it {{in lang|it}}

{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureates 2001–2025}}
{{2003 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Presidents of the American Association for the Advancement of Science}}
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[[Category:21st-century American chemists]]
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[[Category:Nobel laureates in Chemistry]]
[[Category:Lutherans from Minnesota]]
[[Category:American people of Norwegian descent]]
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[[Category:People from Northfield, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Augsburg University alumni]]
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
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