The Career Development Program (CDP) 2026-2027 cycle is currently closed
Career Development Program (CDP) grants support researchers early and at different stages of their career: from those with less than two years of postdoctoral research to those who hold independent faculty-level positions.
The grants are designed to encourage these promising young investigators to embark on academic careers, offering researchers the opportunity to take part in basic, translational, or clinical research to help understand and treat blood cancers and relevant premalignant conditions.
How to apply: If you’ve applied with us before, please sign in to your account using this link: Blood Cancer United Research Portal. If this is your first time applying, you can create a new account.
Application deadlines
| Phase | Date |
|---|---|
| Eligibility phase deadline | October 15, 2026, 3:00 PM (ET) |
| Letter of intent phase deadline | November 1, 2026, 3:00 PM (ET) |
| Blind letters of reference deadline | November 15, 2026, 3:00 PM (ET) |
| Full application phase deadline | November 15, 2026, 3:00 PM (ET) |
| Award start date | October 1, 2027 |
Scroll down to see all CDP subcategories or click each category to jump to the appropriate subprogram section:
Basic/Translational:
Clinical:
CDP provides salary support to assist the awardee pursuing their research program. The application should reflect the research program of the applicant, particularly in the Scholar and Scholar in Clinical Research subcategories. See the Guidelines & Instructions for more information. Please refer to the Eligibility Outline in the Guidelines & Instructions for each subcategory to determine which subcategory is most appropriate for your application.
Download the Blood Cancer United Policies and Procedures applicable to all grant programs here:
Fellow
The Fellow award supports high quality postdocs who have clearly demonstrated productivity and critical thinking in their graduate studies as well as in their short time as a postdoc. Your graduate training need not have been in blood cancer. You must have 3 years or less of postdoctoral-level research training by the award start date. This award encourages you to embark on an academic career involving basic or translational research in hematologic malignancies and/or relevant premalignant conditions under a research mentor’s direction. Your research must be directly relevant to hematologic malignancies and/or relevant pre-malignant conditions. In addition, your Sponsor (mentor) must have the appropriate experience to mentor you as you engage in research of direct relevance to blood cancer.
This award is for 3 years and the maximum award per year is $70,000. The minimum stipend/salary going directly to the awardee is $65,000/year. Fellow awardees may also be eligible for an additional childcare stipend of up to $3,600 per year.
*Please find all program documents available for download below:
Special Fellow
The Special Fellow award supports postdocs and instructors having between 3 and 5 years of postdoctoral research training by the award start date, who have clearly demonstrated success in their current postdoctoral/instructor position, and who need an additional 2-3 years of training to be competitive for an independent position. This award provides you with the opportunity to continue building a research program that will make you competitive for an independent position by the end of the award funding period.
You must be in a mentored research position, continuing a research program of direct relevance to hematologic malignancies and/or relevant pre-malignant conditions. In addition, your Sponsor (mentor) must have the appropriate experience to mentor you as you engage in blood cancer-relevant research.
This award is for 2 or 3 years, depending on eligibility, and the maximum award per year is $75,000. The minimum stipend/salary going directly to the awardee is $70,000/year. Special Fellow awardees may also be eligible for an additional childcare stipend of up to $3,600 per year.
*Please find all program documents available for download below:
Scholar
The Scholar award supports rising stars in the blood cancer research field. You must be a highly qualified investigator who has shown a capacity for independent, sustained, and original investigation in the field of hematologic malignancies and/or relevant pre-malignant conditions. You should hold an independent, tenure-track faculty-level position, below the level of full professor, and must have substantial research support awarded from a national agency. Scholar applicants are primarily basic and translational researchers; those who are primarily clinical researchers should consider the Scholar in Clinical Research subcategory. The Scholar application and review process has fundamentally changed from project-based to research program-based and therefore, the application is unlike a standard research grant.
This award is for 5 years and the maximum award per year is $120,000.
*Please find all Program documents available for download below:
Scholar in Clinical Research
The Scholar in Clinical Research award supports rising stars in the clinical blood cancer research field. You must be a highly qualified investigator who holds an independent faculty-level appointment and is conducting independent clinical research, often involving early-stage clinical trials, that will advance the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of hematologic malignancies and/or relevant pre-malignant conditions. The research should be related to your clinical activities and must directly involve patients. Investigators who are primarily laboratory-based, and/or who are working on primarily blood cancer model systems rather than blood cancer patients are not eligible for the Scholar in Clinical Research Award and should consider applying for the Scholar Award instead. The Scholar in Clinical Research application and review process has fundamentally changed from project-based to research program-based and therefore, the application is unlike a standard research grant.
This award is for 5 years and the maximum award per year is $125,000.
All program documents are available for download below:
- 2025-2026 Guidelines & Instructions – Scholar in Clinical Research
- CDP Funding Agreement Template - FY24 (PDF)
- Please refer to the appropriate Guidelines & Instructions document above
- Is this your first time applying for an Blood Cancer United Research grant? You can get started by requesting a new account in the Blood Cancer United Research Portal.
Can I submit more than one application?
No more than one application may be submitted in the current grant review cycle.
Can my Sponsor be a Sponsor to another Fellow/Special Fellow in the same lab?
A Sponsor can be named on the application of another applicant in the same lab so long as the other applicant is NOT applying to the same sub-category.
Can my Sponsor be a Sponsor to another Scholar, or to a Fellow/Special Fellow?
Yes; there is no limit on the number of Scholars one can Sponsor, even while also sponsoring a Fellow or Special Fellow.
Does this grant cover the cost of tuition?
No, this grant does not cover tuition or research costs. This grant only supports salary.
What if I fall outside of the eligibility range?
Any justification considered by LLS and the review panel is very narrow, and includes family leave, serious personal illness, and/or military service. There may be limited circumstances that will be considered beyond those listed, but they must be of a similar level of significance. Examples of unacceptable justification include extra time spent in your thesis advisor’s laboratory for any reason, or personal reasons beyond those listed above. This section may also be used to concisely explain your training history, particularly when it is complicated or does not reflect the system used in the USA.
Is “salary” the same as “stipend”?
Yes, the two terms are synonymous.
Does fringe count in the budget?
Yes, both salary and fringe count as direct costs.
Can I deviate from the margins and font that are preset in the application template?
No, all Applicants must use single-spaced text and Times New Roman 12 pt. Margins are preset in the template and must remain as is. The Applicant's name should be typed in the upper right corner of each page of the template. Failure to use the provided template or to adhere to font size, spacing, margins, and/or page limitations may result in the disqualification of the application.
What if my Sponsor and/or reference letter writer is unable to submit their reference letter by the reference letter/full application deadline?
Your application will be disqualified if letters are not received by the stated Full Application deadline.
What if my Human Subjects and Laboratory Animal assurances haven’t been approved before the application deadline (IRB, IACUC)?
IRB: The application may be submitted with IRB approval pending. However, an award will not be made without documented IRB approval if it was pending at the time of application submission. It is recommended that the Applicant notify LLS before the January review date if the IRB status has changed. If a project is exempt from IRB review, the certificate of exemption must be uploaded as the Human Investigation Statement.
IACUC: The application may be submitted with IACUC approval pending. However, an award will not be made without documented IACUC approval if it was pending at the time of application submission. It is recommended that the Applicant notify LLS before the January review if the IACUC status has changed.
What counts as the “date of conferral” of my degree? Could my oral thesis defense date count as the date of conferral?
The date of conferral of your degree is when your university has granted you your degree. This date usually comes after the oral thesis defense. The degree date of conferral is distinct from the oral thesis defense, and both are required on the eligibility form.
Could this grant cover any sub contract costs?
No, this award is solely for the support of your salary.
Could a Fellow or a Special Fellow award be transferred to another person in the lab, if the Grantee leaves the lab?
No. The Career Development Program award is meant for the person to whom it is granted more than to the project.
Could someone switch labs before the grant start date of July 1st of the year in which the grant is awarded?
No. Transferring labs between starting the grant application process and the award date may result in termination of the award.
Could a grantee switch his/her Scholar award to a research grant?
No, this award only supports salary and will not support a research grant.
Do character limits include spaces?
Yes.
See our active CDP awardee portfolio
To acknowledge the most impressive contributions, we instituted the CDP Achievement Awards to recognize awardees in each subcategory – Scholar or Scholar in Clinical Research, Special Fellow, and Fellow – who have the most significant publication(s) and are on a clear trajectory to become leaders in blood cancer research and/or treatment. See awardees from previous years.
Questions?
Refer to the program guidelines and instructions in the Award Categories section above or email [email protected].
Testimonials
Support from LLS has enabled significant progress in the successful treatment of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). As we continue to work toward not only cure, but lifelong health in survivors of pediatric leukemia, the safe delivery of both conventional and novel, targeted therapies is critical. Funding through this LLS career development award will improve our ability to protect the heart from the deleterious effect of AML therapy, which not only threatens delivery of effective therapies and leukemia survival, but also the long-term cardiovascular health of pediatric AML survivors.
Kasey Leger, MD
Seattle Children's Hospital
CDP Scholar in Clinical Research
Cardioprotective Strategies and Cardiotoxicity Prediction in Children with Acute Myeloid Leukemia
I am truly honored to receive the prestigious LLS Career Development Program award. Our proposed project focuses on a new immunotherapy approach for myeloma patients, with a particular focus on those with high risk phenotype. We aim to identify novel therapeutic combinations that may stimulate patient immune system against their own myeloma, a process known as immunogenic cell death (ICD). The generous support from LLS will help to characterize the role of specific genes in controlling the induction of ICD by specific anti-myeloma treatment. This award will significantly advance our research toward a rapid translation in clinical trials for our myeloma patients.
Annamaria Gulla, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
CDP Fellow
Optimizing mechanisms for induction of immunogenic cell death to improve clinical outcome in high risk multiple myeloma patients