Emili Montserrat, MD from the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain discusses his personal highlights from the International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (iwCLL) 2017 in New York, NY. He covers how interest in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has expanded enormously, with significant developments. However he also emphasises the importance of closing the gap between basic and clinical science, with more needing to be done in translational research.