Michael still goes into WEHI, now as a donor. He and his wife Kelli Garrison are helping to support a new generation of students with the Alan W Harris Scholarship.

Their two sons also come into WEHI, meeting up with some of the same scientists Michael met as a child.

The Alan W Harris Scholarship, which provides a $5000 allowance to Honours and Masters students, was initially established by WEHI in honour of Michael’s father.

Michael and Kelli, who decided independently to give to medical research, thought it made sense to join forces with WEHI to boost the scholarship.

“Kelli and I were both students in our respective fields and we understand the challenges and financial struggles of pursuing higher studies,” Michael said.

Supporting medical research aligned with the couple’s values and the idea of helping people across the globe.

Alan W Harris scholarship recipient Kathleen Zeglinski said the scholarship helped take the financial pressure off so she could focus on her research.

Kathleen’s work, which uses sequencing techniques to improve the discovery of antibody-based drugs, including a potential COVID-19 treatment, won her the Colman-Speed Medal as WEHI’s top Honours student in 2020.