Gheorghe Benga (born January 26, 1944 in

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

, Romania) is a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n physician and molecular biologist. He is professor and chairman in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology of the

Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy ( ro, Universitatea de Medicină și Farmacie "Iuliu Hațieganu", or UMF Cluj) in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, is the oldest medical education institution in Transylvania, a continuation of the Faculty ...

in Cluj-Napoca,

, and a titular member of the Romanian Academy. Benga did his studies in Cluj-Napoca, earning an

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in 1967, and an M.Sc. in Chemistry from

Babeș-Bolyai University The Babeș-Bolyai University ( ro, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai , hu, Babeș-Bolyai Tudományegyetem, commonly known as UBB) is a public research university located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. UBB has a long academic tradition, started by Universitas ...

in 1973. In 1986, together with collaborators Octavian Popescu and Victor I. Pop, Benga showed the existence of a protein water channel in the red blood cell membrane. Two years later, in 1988,

Peter Agre Peter Agre (born January 30, 1949) is an American physician, Nobel Laureate, and molecular biologist, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and director o ...

independently isolated the protein and demonstrated it was a ubiquitously expressed water transport protein, naming it

aquaporin Aquaporins, also called water channels, are channel proteins from a larger family of major intrinsic proteins that form pores in the membrane of biological cells, mainly facilitating transport of water between cells. The cell membranes of a ...

. In 2003 Agre would receive the

Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...

for his work. Benga and his collaborators would appeal this award before the

Nobel Committee A Nobel Committee is a working body responsible for most of the work involved in selecting Nobel Prize laureates. There are five Nobel Committees, one for each Nobel Prize. Four of these committees (for prizes in physics, chemistry, physiolo ...

, to no avail, though he would receive recognition with a Gold Medal at the Third Science Congress held in Constanța.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benga, Gheorghe 1944 births Living people Scientists from Timișoara Babeș-Bolyai University alumni Titular members of the Romanian Academy Romanian biologists 20th-century Romanian physicians 21st-century Romanian physicians Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy alumni Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy faculty