[4][5] 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.

In 1981, Agre returned to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to join the lab of Vann Bennett in the Department of Cell Biology.

[11][12] Agre has received 19 honorary doctorates from universities around the world, including Japan, Norway, Greece, Mexico, Hungary, and the United States.

[13] In February 2014, he was named a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University for his accomplishments as an interdisciplinary researcher and excellence in teaching the next generation of scholars.

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.

[23] 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.

Permeated by water, aquaporins are required for generation of cerebrospinal fluid, aqueous humour, tears, sweat, saliva, humidification of airways, and renal concentration.

[27] 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."

"[28] 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.

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%.

[32] 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.

[27][35] 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.

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.

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.

[38] 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.

[39] Potential future scientific collaboration in the life sciences such as medicine development and agricultural research received extensive and enthusiastic discussion.

[42] 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.

[44] As Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,[45] 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 autoclaved or incinerated.

[48] 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.

[49] 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.

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.

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.

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 COP21 climate summit in Paris.