2026 Young Investigator Award

Goal: This award intends to foster the academic career development of scientists who are either young in their careers or have not yet established themselves as independent researchers. The Young Investigator Award encourages the next generation of scientific leaders to perform research that is specific to CLL / SLL.

Applicant Requirements: Researchers must be junior faculty members (instructors, assistant professors, and/or postdoctoral fellows) whose focus is on pre-clinical research. Applicants should ideally be fellows or scientists with an MD, DO (or the equivalent), and/or PhD from an accredited institution who plan to be tenure-tracked by the time the grant term begins. The proposal must focus exclusively on CLL / SLL and/or directly related disorders such as Richter’s transformation. 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). 

Term of Award: Three years.

Budget: $150,000, which will be distributed in three annual payments of $50,000.

Eligibility Criteria: In addition to CLL Society’s General Eligibility Criteria, please refer to the additional eligibility criteria located within CLL Society’s 2026 Young Investigator Award RFP below. Applicants should be within seven years of achieving their terminal degree and/or within seven years from completing specialty training (i.e., Hematology-Oncology Fellowship training).

RFP: CLL Society’s 2026 Young Investigator Award

Application Instructions: CLL Society’s 2026 Young Investigator Award Application Instructions

2026 Clinical Scholar Award

Goal: This award is dedicated to exceptional physician researchers who have already established themselves in the field of CLL / SLL. It is designed to support the research efforts of an advanced physician-scientist who is engaged in independent clinical research and has demonstrated exceptional leadership, scholarship, and academic success. The Clinical Scholar Award is intended to advance the development of treatment and/or preventative options for those living with CLL / SLL while continuing to support the careers of established physician-scientists. The proposal must focus exclusively on CLL / SLL and/or directly related disorders.

Applicant Requirements: Researchers must be an MD, DO, or the equivalent who is an independent clinician investigator. Clinical Scholar Award applicants should be mid-stage in their career (defined as being someone who is either an associate professor, or within five years or less from acquiring full professorship as of the funding date of July 1st, 2026). Applicants must have a strong focus on CLL research and/or treatment. Please see the RFP for additional details about applicant requirements.

Term of Award: Three years.

Budget: $300,000, which will be distributed into three annual payments of $100,000. 

Eligibility Criteria: In addition to CLL Society’s General Eligibility Criteria, please refer to the additional eligibility criteria located within CLL Society’s 2025 Clinical Scholar Award below. 

Link to RFP: CLL Society’s 2026 Clinical Scholar Award

Application Instructions: CLL Society’s 2026 Clinical Scholar Award Application Instructions

2026 Application Process

Letters of Intent: All Applicants should first submit their Letter of Intent through ProposalCentral’s portal no later than November 7, 2025, at 11:59 PM EST. Letters of Intent will not be received after this date/time with no exceptions. To fill out the Letter of Intent questions, you will need to reference CLL Society’s Research Program Objectives. Please submit only one LOI per grant type (i.e., YIA, CSA). If multiple LOI’s are received from one applicant for the same type of award, all submissions for that award type will become ineligible. Those who submitted Letters of Intent will be notified via email of their LOI status by November 27th, 2025. At that time, the selected applicants can then begin to submit their full research proposals through ProposalCentral. 

Full Research Proposal Application: Only applicants who have been notified that they have been selected to advance to the next phase will be able to submit their full research applications through ProposalCentral’s portal. The deadline for submitting the full research proposal is no later than January 30th, 2026, at noon EST. Applications will not be received after this date/time with no exceptions. Incomplete applications will also not be considered.

Required Documents: Please read through the Application Instructions (found under each grant type located above) and the Research Program Guidelines in full prior to beginning the application process.

2026 Research Program Key Dates

Contact: If you are having difficulty logging into ProposalCentral or have technical questions regarding how to submit your application through their portal, please contact their support line directly at 1-800-875-2562 during normal business hours, 8:30-5:00 EST, Monday through Friday. 

Any remaining non-technical questions that are not answered (after reading through the Application Instructions specific to the grant you are applying for and the Research Program Guidelines) should be submitted to [email protected].