Abstract Review: Poster Presentation

Poster Presentation Eligibility - undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, and graduate students

All abstract submissions for poster presentation are reviewed according to the criteria outlined below. All review decisions are final. There is no appeals process or opportunity to resubmit once an abstract is rejected.

Three main criteria will be considered by the review committee when reviewing abstracts for acceptance.

1. A minimum of two authors in the author block (a submission with one author will result in an automatic rejection)
2. Demonstration of a scientific problem (submissions must contain hypothesis and/or statement of problem, methods/methodology used, the results, and a conclusion)
3. Quality of written content

Abstracts must contain the following components and abide by the following guidelines in order to be considered for acceptance:

• At least two authors must be listed in the author block in the following order:1st presenting author (student); 2nd research mentor; 3rd additional authors (e.g. coauthors, program director)

• Abstract with only one author in the author block will be rejected.

• The abstract must contain a hypothesis or statement about the problem under investigation.

• The abstract must contain a statement of the experimental methods/methodology used.

• Essential results must be provided in summary form (even if preliminary). Do not state, for example, "results will be discussed."

• The abstract must contain a conclusion that explains how the work contributes to the hypothesis or statement of problem (the conclusiong may be preliminary).

• Abstracts that show lack of care or quality control as evidenced by grammatical, punctuation, spelling, and/or typographical errors, are reviewed less favorably. Work must be proofread carefully before submission.

• Research proposals are not acceptable.

Abstract Review: Oral Presentation

Oral Presentation Eligibility - undergraduate students only

Of the abstracts submitted for oral presentation, no more than the top eight undergraduate abstracts in each of the ten scientific disciplines will be selected for oral presentations. Last year, 270 abstracts were submitted for oral presentation and only 76 were selected. If an abstract is accepted into the conference, but not selected for oral presentation, that abstract will be automatically assigned to a poster presentation.

All abstracts submitted for oral presentation will first be reviewed for acceptance into the conference using the criteria for poster presentations. If accepted into the conference, the abstract will be reviewed for oral presentation using the following criteria:

• Validity of scientific project
• Originality and innovation
• Approach to problem solving
• Organization and clarity
• Conciseness

Undergraduate students that have previously won an ABRCMS Presentation Award are not eligible to submit an abstract for oral presentation. Awardees can only submit abstracts for poster presentation.

2009 ABRCMS Poster and Oral Presentation Awardees

Congratulations to all 1,215 student presenters. The following undergraduates received a presentation award at the closing banquet for their outstanding presentations:

2009 ABRCMS Presentation Awardees (pdf)

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