Peter Agre shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of aquaporin water channels. He led the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (JHMRI) for 15 years, retiring from the role in 2023.

In his role as JHMRI director, he oversaw scientific training and research efforts of 20 laboratories in Baltimore as well as field studies in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Research at JHMRI involves multiple aspects of malaria, including increasing resistance to malaria transmission in mosquitoes, identifying new targets for antimalarial medicines, developing effective vaccines, and field epidemiology and entomology. Agre’s own laboratory studied the role of aquaporins in malaria parasites, malaria mosquitoes, and cerebral malaria.

Agre is active in science diplomacy and has led visits by American scientists to North Korea, Cuba, Myanmar/Burma, and Iran, with the objective of fostering exchange and collaborations on peaceful scientific projects and opening doors to countries with limited diplomatic relations through scientific discussions and partnerships.

Agre was appointed as an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University in 1984 and was named a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in 2014.