Matthew Harris was a lover of egg and cress, shorts in any weather, terrible jokes, swift pints, and science. Most importantly Matthew was a great person, but his story is also inspiring. He overcame a huge personal battle with heroin before going to University, obtaining his undergraduate and PhD (virology) degrees at the University of Glasgow. However, sadly two years ago, on 31st march 2019, Matthew took his own life. Naturally the anniversary of his death is a difficult time for his parents, family, and friends. With all he overcame and achieved, which he was too humble to admit, he continues to be a great source of strength for those that knew him, which we hope to use to help others. His life shows the ability we have to overcome adversity and achieve our goals, but it also demonstrates the importance of support. 

To honour Matt we are hoping to raise funds necessary to set up a Scholarship in his memory. Donations will go toward a Talent Scholarship set up by the University of Glasgow, which give financial and guidance support to students which otherwise would not be able to access or continue their undergraduate degrees. 

In order to this, we need to raise £6,000 to secure a scholarship for one year. However, over the next five years the aim will be to raise £60,000 to create an endowment which will allow this scholarship to in perpetuity. Donations can also be made directly to the University, which is useful for tax deductible (from non UK accounts) as well as larger donations. For these donations would be done using BACS citing "Matthew Harris Scholarship 0506179" as the reference! 

As a first step toward trying to raise the funds I am going to run, cycle, walk, row, swim the distance between PEI (Canada), where I live now, and Glasgow where we spent our time getting up to no good (4,052 Km). I dearly wish we could skull a few more pints there together.

Look after your mates. 

You can read Matt's PhD thesis here: 
http://theses.gla.ac.uk/8863/

You can read more about Talent Scholarships and hear the stories of recent beneficiaries of them here: 
https://www.gla.ac.uk/scholarships/undergraduatetalentscholarships

You can read more about Matt's story here: 
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/troubled-mans-heartbreaking-eight-word-17247759
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/leek-post-times/20190410/281621011714219