Equity in Access Research Grants (United States)

Through this program, LLS aims to generate new evidence that can guide policy reform and changes in healthcare practice, in order to mitigate the impact of social, economic and environmental disadvantages and reduce barriers to care.

This funding opportunity is part of LLS’s Equity in Access Research Program, designed to generate evidence that will guide changes in healthcare policy and practice to ensure that all patients with and survivors of a blood cancer have the ability to access and utilize optimal treatment, care, and resources that can improve their quality of life and outcomes, from diagnosis through survivorship. This program is based on the concept of health equity as “the attainment of the highest level of health for all people, where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their optimal health regardless of race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, preferred language, or other factors that affect access to care and health outcomes.

Funding Information

• Maximum project period is 5 years, and the maximum funding amount per year is $500,000.
• Total budget, including indirect costs, should not exceed $2.5 million for a 5-year project period.
• Indirect costs are limited to 11.1% of the total direct costs during the Research Funding Term.

Ineligible Funding 

• They will not fund studies that focus primarily on:
  • Understanding patient barriers to accessing cancer clinical trials.
  • Understanding patient perspectives, preferences, and unmet needs around cancer clinical trials.
  • Patient or community attitudes, knowledge, awareness about clinical trials, or willingness to participate in trials.
  • Physician or provider attitudes, knowledge, awareness about clinical trials, or willingness to refer patients to trials.

Eligibility Criteria

• The application will require a Principal Investigator who is responsible for proposal submission and conduct of the study, including adherence to all stipulations made by LLS in this document, and in the Funding Agreement, if funded. Study teams may also include one or two Co-Principal Investigator(s) and multiple Co-Investigators.
• LLS welcomes Principal Investigators at all stages of their careers, as well as Principal Investigators who have not previously conducted research in the area of blood cancer. However, if the Principal Investigator is an early career investigator, a more experienced Co-Principal Investigator is required. Principal Investigator(s) must meet the following eligibility criteria:
  • The Principal Investigator must be affiliated with a public or nonprofit institution (tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code).
  • The sponsoring institution must be based in the United States or its territories.
  • The Principal Investigator must have a PhD, MD, DO, ScD, JD, or equivalent doctoral degree.
• The Principal Investigator and other study team members may come from a variety of disciplines, including but not limited to medicine/oncology, nursing, social work, public health, health services research, economics, sociology, health communication, epidemiology, and biostatistics. They strongly encourage multi-disciplinary teams.
• Consistent with LLS’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, they encourage applications that have investigators and/or research team members from backgrounds historically underrepresented in research disciplines as a result of their race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, or other factors.

For more information, visit Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.