American Medical Student Association

AMSA Foundation 17th Annual Poster Session Call for Abstracts

Have you completed a project in the last year and want to highlight your work on the national stage?

Submit your project for consideration to AMSA Foundation’s 17th Annual Poster Session held during the 2012 AMSA National Convention. The poster session will take place on Friday, March 9th at the Hyatt Regency Houston. This is an opportunity for you, as a physician-in-training, to develop your skills as a professional presenter while showcasing innovative projects that you have completed at your home institutions.

You can submit in one of four categories for abstract judging:

• Translational Projects – These projects include research focused on traditional natural sciences and laboratory bench-top research.
• Patient-Oriented & Epidemiology Projects – These projects focus on outcomes of interventions on patients and population-based research.
• Curriculum Development & Educational Projects – These projects focus on the development of educational interventions, the effects of teaching students or patients, and curricular innovations.
• Community Development & Service Projects – These projects deal with experiences related to contributing to the local community and improving access and quality of individuals’ lives through direct action.

Eligibility

• Hold a valid AMSA membership
• Will register for and attend the 2012 AMSA National Convention if selected to participate. This includes being present to participate in the poster session, including setting up your poster during specified times in advance of the session opening to the convention attendees
• Have completed your project or have sufficient data collected to write a complete abstract, including the results and conclusion sections

Submitting your Project Abstract and the Selection Process

Abstracts should be no longer than 350 words and follow a standard format (background, methods, results, and conclusion). No charts, graphs, or special characters and formatting will be possible using the online abstract submission form. Make sure to write your abstract in text paragraphs to avoid formatting errors online. Only completed abstracts will be considered. Ethical considerations for subjects should be mentioned, if applicable. Abstracts are due by November 1, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

Abstracts will be judged for acceptance to the poster session on the following criteria:

• Innovation & impact on the target population
• Clear objective(s) with appropriate evaluation of the research/project
• Clarity & organization of the writing

Submitting authors of selected abstracts will be contacted no later than 12/1/2011 to prepare a poster for National Convention. All submitting authors will be sent feedback from the initial judges scoring in order to assist each author to better understand the strengths/weaknesses of their abstract.

AMSA National will host an optional webinar for all accepted abstract authors in early January to provide an opportunity to ask questions about developing a poster.

Our Judging Partners

We are pleased to announce our partners in judging. Their commitment to fostering research and project development among AMSA members is greatly appreciated. Abstract submissions selected to participate in the 2012 poster session will be judged by the following teams.

• Translational Projects and Patient Oriented & Epidemiology Projects
  Robert M. Lembo, MD, FAAP
  Deputy Director
  Office of Clinical Research Training and Medical Education
  NIH Clinical Center
  National Institutes of Health
  and physician-scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; and the NIH Clinical Center

• Curriculum Development & Educational Projects and Community Development and Service Projects
  Geoffrey Young, PhD
  Senior Director
  Student Affairs and Student Programs
  Association of American Medical Colleges
  and a team of dedicated professionals from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)

For additional information about resources and opportunities available to future-physicians through these partners, visit their websites.

• NIH Clinical Center