Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Discovery Grants Program

Eligibility

Citizenship 
The program welcomes applications from US citizens and non-US citizens, as well as applicants who are performing research outside the United States. 

Degree 
Applicants must hold a PhD, MD, DVM, or equivalent degree. 

Institutional Affiliation 
Applicants must be independent investigators affiliated with a non-profit institution at the time funding commences and for the duration of the award. Applications from nonacademic facilities are not eligible. 

Overlapping aims in grant proposals submitted to LLS 
• The PI and/or Co-PI may apply to more than one grant program during an application cycle if the aims do not substantially overlap with the aims of any other application across all programs. You may not be on a different project within the same grant program unless you are a Collaborator. 
• Collaborators or Key Personnel may be part of other DGP projects or any other grant program applications provided the aims differ. 

The Principal Investigator (PI): 
• MUST be a person (companies or institutions are not eligible) 
• MUST be an independent investigator at the time of the Letter of Intent, defined as a scientist who has dedicated laboratory space, directly hires, and supervises laboratory personnel (technicians, graduate students, postdocs, and staff scientists), and makes all decisions concerning research activities and use of the grant funds 
• MUST be an established investigator, defined as a researcher with more than 3 years in an independent faculty appointment at the time of the Letter of Intent 
• may only submit ONE application per cycle and cannot serve as a PI OR Co-Principal Investigator on more than ONE application per cycle 
• CAN serve as a Collaborator on other applications provided aims differ 
• if the applicant can demonstrate a significant track record in malignant hematology and/or blood cancer research, a co-PI may strengthen the proposal but is not required 
• if the applicant has scientific achievements and significant expertise in another scientific area and no track record in blood cancer research, they MUST have a Co-Principal Investigator who has the required significant track record in hematology and/or blood cancer research 

NOT eligible to apply for a grant in this program: 
• predoctoral scientists or postdoctoral fellows 
• junior principal investigators (within the first 3 years of initial independent faculty appointment) 
• current Discovery Grant Program (DGP) or Blood Cancer Discoveries Grant Program (BCDG) awardees, unless the current award is scheduled to end before October 1, 2025 

A Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI): 
• MUST be a person (companies or institutions are not eligible) 
• MUST be an established, independent investigator with more than 3 years in an independent faculty appointment at the time of the Letter of Intent 
• if the PI has the necessary track record in blood cancer research, a co-PI may strengthen the proposal but is not required 
• if the PI has no expertise or proven track record in any of the blood cancers, an expert Co-PI is REQUIRED 
• only ONE Co-PI is allowed 
• at least one research aim of the proposal fully depends on their expertise, typically performed in their laboratory and/or facility 
• MUST be designated at the LOI phase detailing the nature and extent of the scientific interaction 
• MUST be included in the “Interaction with Other Investigators” section as part of the Full Application 
• the Co-PI MUST provide a letter detailing the scientific interaction as part of the Full Application A Named Collaborator or Collaborators 
• MUST be a person or persons (companies or institutions are not eligible) 
• a maximum of TWO NAMED collaborators are allowed 
• may NOT be named at the LOI phase 
• may ONLY be designated at the Full Application phase by being included in the “Interaction with Other Investigators” section 
• each Named Collaborator MUST provide a letter of support detailing the nature of the scientific interaction 
• may strengthen the work proposed but is not required 
• may supply the PI with a rare reagent that is not available commercially 
• may provide expert insight, guidance, or feedback on research progress  
• CAN serve as a Collaborator on other Applications in this program in the same cycle 

An “unofficial” collaborator or collaborators 
• may be a person, an institution or a company supplying practical support, such as access to a single rare reagent or an instrument Page 6 
• may not provide scientific expertise, that role is reserved for the Co-PI and the Named Collaborator(s) 
• may strengthen the work proposed but is not required 
• there is no limit on the number of unofficial collaborator(s) 
• may not be included in the “Interaction with Other Investigators” section, only provide a letter of support 
• CAN serve as a Collaborator on other Applications in this program in the same cycle 

Summary

The Discovery Grant Program (DGP) is aimed at supporting cutting edge, discoveryoriented innovation research, concerned with understanding blood cancer properties and vulnerabilities and aimed toward advancing treatments for blood cancers.  Examples of projects of potential interest include: 

• cellular activities that underlie the behavior and vulnerabilities of blood cancer cells including phenomena or processes such as clonal evolution, autophagy, unique metabolic vulnerabilities, inflammation/inflammasomes, DNA damage responses, organellar changes, and poorly understood cellular regulatory mechanisms 
• resistance mechanisms including immune evasion, resistant clone evolution, and cellular changes underlying development of resistance to chemotherapies  
• novel biomarkers or techniques to detect and monitor blood cancer development and progression
• blood cancer cell interactions with the microenvironment and with the immune system, including exploration of novel immune synapses  

This program is not meant to support: 

• clinical trials or correlative studies associated with clinical trials 
• development of a drug or treatment that already has shown proof of concept 
• research that is primarily confirmatory or minimally incremental 
• research into cellular behavior, mechanisms, or development not in the context of blood cancer 
• studies of normal hematopoiesis 

Overhead

 Indirect costs are limited to 10% of the total award value of $750,000, or $250,000 per year. 

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.

SUBMISSION OF THE LOI
Each applicant must submit the LOI by September 18, 2024, at 3:00 pm ET/1:00 pm MT via the LLS Research Portal, or the following business day if this date falls on a weekend or a U.S. holiday. 

After clicking the “Submit” button, the applicant will receive Page 15 an automated email from the LLS Research Portal stating that the LOI was successfully submitted. 

If you did not receive the confirmation email from the LLS Research Portal within two business days of LOI submission, please e-mail researchprograms@lls.org. Signatures of the applicant and institution officials are not required for submission of the LOI. 

INVITED FULL APPLICATIONS
Each invited applicant must submit a full application by March 3, 2025, at 3:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm MT via the LLS Research Portal at https://lls.fluxx.io or the following business day if this date falls on a weekend or a U.S. holiday. 

Please see full application guidelines for further details on application formatting.

DGP Funding Agreement Template

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award LOI

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application

Support for projects involving Indigenous Research:

Support with the development of your grant application is available internally through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST). Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

Support for Knowledge Engagement:

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation is available internally through the Knowledge Engagement Team. Applicants can reach out by email to the KE team at knowledge.engagement@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information, please visit the KE team webpage.

Support for Research Data Management:

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@libanswers.ucalgary.com and/or visit https://libguides.ucalgary.ca/researchdatamanagement.

Support for EDI in Research:

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice. Contact Erin.OToole@ucalgary.ca for more information.