2024 LLS Career Development Program (CDP) Scholar Award

Eligibility

The program welcomes applications worldwide from appropriate non-profit academic institutions and investigators of any nationality. Applicants must hold a PhD, MD, DVM, or equivalent degree.

Scholar applicants must…

• Have a Sponsor who will attest to institutional support for the applicant. An appropriate Sponsor may be a department head, chief of service, or program chair. The Sponsor must be from the same institution and in a supervisory position relative to the applicant.
• Be a tenure-track independent investigator of at least an assistant professor position or equivalent (see Experience/eligibility clock).
• Not be a full professor as of the award start date.
• Have adequate funding to support the proposed research (see Research Support Requirement).
• Have started their first independent position no less than 2 years but not more than 8 years as of January 1 of the award start date (see Experience/eligibility clock). Instructor-level positions are not counted as independent for eligibility purposes. However, all non-mentored positions are considered independent for this calculation.
• Have at least one full length (which may include short reports), peer-reviewed, primary research, corresponding author publication* available on PubMed by the application due date as an independent investigator.

*Peer reviewed manuscripts that are fully accepted by the eligibility due date are acceptable. A copy of the letter from the journal must be provided to LLS by the eligibility due date, and the manuscript must be published online (PubMed and/or on the journal’s website) by the full application due date for eligibility to be accepted and for the full application to be reviewed.

Summary

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society supports talented blood cancer researchers in the early phase of their careers through the Career Development Program (CDP). CDP continues to provide a pool of dedicated researchers to advance the understanding and diagnosis of blood cancer, as well as the development of treatment and prevention options that will ultimately lead to a higher quality of life for blood cancer patients. Scholar applicants are primarily basic and translational researchers; those who are primarily clinical researchers should consider the Scholar in Clinical Research subcategory.

The 2024 LLS Career Development Program (CDP) Scholar Award is for 5 years and supports tenure-track, junior faculty who have already established themselves as blood cancer researchers and are on a trajectory of leadership in the field. The maximum award per year is $120,000 and includes the applicant’s salary and fringe benefits. A Scholar’s salary may be supplemented by funds from other sources. Indirect costs may be included and cannot exceed 5% of the total award amount requested in the proposal. The final value of the award may be limited by the policy of the applicant’s Institution. Expenditures for laboratory costs/equipment, travel, etc. are not permitted.

The applicant’s research program described should occupy all the applicant’s research time though there are no requirements for a certain percent effort in our budget template. Scholar applicants are assistant or associate professors (or equivalent). Scholar applicants must hold an independent position. However, this award is not intended for well-established and/or senior investigators; those who are full professors, or who will be as of the award start date, are no longer eligible to apply.

Application Submission

The CDP application process consists of 3 distinct phases: Eligibility*, Letter of Intent*, and Full Application.*

1. Eligibility Phase. Applicants may submit Eligibility Phase components upon opening of the program. It is recommended to submit as soon as possible, as there is no benefit to waiting. There are both webform components and an eligibility template that you must obtain from the LLS Research Portal. Your completed eligibility template must be uploaded onto the LLS Research Portal. Eligibility will be evaluated by LLS scientific staff on a rolling basis (see the Eligibility Review section below). If eligibility is approved, the applicant may proceed to the next phase of the application process. If eligibility is rejected, the applicant may submit one more time if new information is provided and the eligibility deadline (October 27, 2023 - 1:00 PM MT) has not passed.

2. Letter of Intent Phase. Applicants may access Letter of Intent Phase components as soon as their eligibility request is approved by LLS. The components on the LLS grants management system must be completed by the Letter of Intent Phase deadline (November 15, 2023 - 1:00 PM MT). This includes reference letter writer request information, which must be input into the LLS grants management system by this deadline (however, reference letter writers should be contacted well before this time). Once these components submitted, the applicant will have immediate access to the Full Application Phase components.

LLS Changes Policy: *Information provided at the earlier phases must match that provided at later phases. Divergence between information provided at the Eligibility and/or Letter of Intent Phases and information provided at the Full Application Phase may result in administrative disqualification; if not disqualified, any divergence may be shared with the review committee.

To ensure the accuracy of the information given in your LOI, applicants are strongly encouraged to obtain institutional approval from the University of Calgary prior to submitting their LOI to the sponsor. Initiate required University of Calgary internal approvals by completing a Pre-Award/Letter of Intent record in RMS (https://my.rms.ucalgary.ca/)/. Please ensure that you allow time for academic approvals prior to the Research Services Office internal review deadline of 12:00pm MT, November 10, 2023.

3. Full Application. Immediately after Letter of Intent Phase submission, you will have access to the Full Application Phase and may proceed with the application. Some sections of the full application will carry through from the Letter of Intent Phase. Information that carries through must not be modified; changes made to the Letter of Intent Phase components after the Letter of Intent Phase deadline may result in administrative disqualification of the full application. The remainder of the full application consists of web form components and elements to be uploaded as a single PDF.

Applicants must obtain institutional approval from the University of Calgary prior to submitting their Full Application to the sponsor. Requisite University of Calgary internal and institutional approvals are obtained through RMS (https://my.rms.ucalgary.ca/).

Questions regarding the University of Calgary application procedure can be directed to Chantal Lemire, Research Grants Officer, International Foundations at chantal.lemire@ucalgary.ca.

Overhead

5% of total costs. Indirect costs may be included and cannot exceed 5% of the total award amount requested in the proposal.

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Pre-application program deadline

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Additional Resources

LLS Research Portal

2023-2024 Guidelines & Instructions - Scholar

CDP Funding Agreement Template - for Scholars and Scholars in Clinical Research