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Young Investigator Award in CLL

CLL Society

Introduction: CLL Society is pleased to announce a funding opportunity for researchers who are early in their careers, have not yet established themselves as independent researchers, and plan on having a career in the field of CLL/SLL and related disorders such as Richter’s transformation.

The Young Investigator is defined as a junior faculty member (instructor or assistant professor) and/or postdoctoral fellow whose focus is on pre-clinical research. Applicants should ideally be fellows or scientists with an MD, DO, and/or PhD from an accredited institution who plan to be tenure-tracked by the time the grant term begins. Young Investigator Award applicants should be within 7 years from achieving their terminal degree and/or within 7 years from completing specialty training (i.e., Hematology-Oncology Fellowship training).

Award Amount: CLL Society’s 2026 Young Investigator Award is for $150,000 which will be distributed in three annual payments of $50,000. The first $50,000 will be paid within 30 days of the Effective Date, the second $50,000 will be paid within 30 days after CLL Society’s approval of the first submitted annual Scientific Progress Report and Financial Report, and the final $50,000 will be paid within 30 days after CLL Society’s approval of the second submitted annual Scientific Progress Report and Financial Report.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Strong, Explicit Focus on CLL/SLL

The #1 predictor of success is a proposal that directly and exclusively addresses CLL or SLL.

Top-aligned topics include:

New therapeutic targets or combination strategies

Resistance mechanisms (e.g., to BTKi, venetoclax)

Immunotherapy (CAR-T, NK cells, immune evasion)

Minimal residual disease (MRD) detection technologies

Biomarkers for prognosis or response

Real-world outcomes or toxicity management

Treatment sequencing in the BTKi/venetoclax era

❗ If the proposal is not clearly and explicitly CLL-focused, it is unlikely to be funded.

2. Alignment With the Specific Grant Mechanism

CLL Society offers grants such as:

🔹 Research Grants (1–2 years)

Focused on innovative scientific advances.

Require preliminary data showing feasibility.

🔹 Young Investigator Awards

Target early-career leukemia/CLL researchers.

Strong mentorship and training plan essential.

🔹 Quality-of-Life / Supportive Care Grants

Focus on patient-centered needs: symptom burden, mental health, survivorship, financial toxicity, access to care.

🔹 Collaborative or Data Sharing Projects

Multi-site collaborations strongly favored.

Use of large datasets or real-world evidence encouraged.

Predictor: Match your career stage, project scope, and objectives to the correct program.

3. High Innovation with Clear Patient Impact

The CLL Society strongly values proposals that will change patient outcomes, not incremental science.

Strong predictors:

Novel mechanism-of-action therapeutics

AI/ML for prognosis or MRD tracking

First-in-field biomarker strategies

Rapid translation toward clinical trial feasibility

Interventions that improve patient quality of life or reduce disparities

Predictor: "How will this improve the lives of CLL patients?" must be clearly answered.

4. Strong Preliminary Data

Even for early-career grants, successful proposals typically include:

Pilot data supporting the hypothesis

Proof-of-concept for a new method or assay

Feasibility evidence (cell lines, patient samples, computational models)

Predictor: Show that the project is ready to run, not exploratory speculation.

5. Use of Human Samples, Registry Data, or Clinically Relevant Models

CLL Society values clinically anchored research:

Primary CLL samples

CLL mouse models or PDX systems

MRD monitoring platforms

Real-world datasets

CLL patient registries

Predictor: Human relevance = stronger impact score.

6. Strong Mentorship & Environment (Especially for Young Investigators)

Winning applicants often have:

A mentor with a track record in CLL or hematologic malignancies

A formal training plan

Institutional commitment (protected time, access to biobanks, cores, sequencing, etc.)

Predictor: A supportive environment increases reviewer confidence.

7. Collaboration Is a Major Strength

CLL is a rare blood cancer, so collaborative research is highly valued.

Competitive proposals often include:

Multi-institutional teams

Clinical + basic + computational science integration

Partnerships with patient advocacy or community oncology sites

Predictor: Multi-PI, multi-center frameworks score higher.

8. Clear, Feasible Aims and Timeline

CLL Society funding is usually 1–2 years.

Projects must be:

Clearly scoped

Milestone-driven

Feasible within the timeframe

Logically structured (Aim 1 → Aim 2 → translational step)

Predictor: Feasibility is a major review criterion.

9. Emphasis on Patient-Centered Outcomes (for QoL Grants)

Quality-of-life proposals should target:

Fatigue, anxiety, depression

Infections and immune dysfunction

Financial toxicity

Caregiver burden

Racial/ethnic disparities

Decision-making and health literacy

Predictor: Show real-world relevance and rapid benefit to the CLL patient community.

10. Clear, Persuasive, Reviewer-Friendly Writing

High-scoring proposals:

Clearly state the problem, gap, and solution

Use figures for preliminary data

Provide a compelling rationale

Are easy for both clinicians and basic scientists to follow

Predictor: Good storytelling and clarity significantly improve reviewer enthusiasm.

🏆 Summary Table

Predictor	Why It Matters
CLL/SLL-specific focus	CLL Society funds ONLY CLL-targeted work
Mechanism alignment	Ensures reviewer expectations match project & career stage
Innovation + impact	CLL Society wants transformative advances
Preliminary data	Demonstrates feasibility
Human-relevant models	Strengthens translational value
Mentorship & environment	Critical for early investigators
Collaboration	Preferred for rare-disease research
Feasible, focused aims	Increases deliverability
Patient-centered framework	Key for QoL and survivorship proposals
Strong writing	Improves review scores

Specialties

Clinical Trials

Neurosciences

Eligibility Requirements

In addition to the specific eligibility criteria mentioned within this RFP, applicants must also review CLL Society’s general eligibility criteria which is located on the website here.

Applicants with prior experience in laboratory research are preferred, but previous laboratory experience is not required. Research must be conducted at an academic research institution located within the United States that has a teaching curriculum and mentoring element. Applicants must be mentored by a well-established CLL researcher. Proposals must contain a laboratory research-based component to be eligible for this award. Projects that have a clinical research component will be considered, but clinical research should not be the main component of the proposal. Similarly, the funding is meant to go directly to the researcher who applied for the award who must perform the actual laboratory-based research. If the proposal includes laboratory correlatives, the awardee must be the one performing the majority of them. This grant does allow for concurrently held research awards from other non-profit organizations or government institutions, but applicants must provide documentation of current and pending support within the application.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: CLL Society

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 450 Rev Kelly M Smith Way Nashville, TN 37203

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