Abstract Requirements

Abstracts are brief summaries of the research that will be published in the Symposium program book. Judges at the Symposium will use these abstracts to review and judge poster and presentations. Participants of the Symposium will have access to the complete abstract book in a PDF format on this website.

Symposium abstracts should be comprised of three major components:

-The title and author affiliation
-The body of the abstract
-The acknowledgements statement, if applicable

Abstract Templates can be downloaded here.

Abstract Requirements:

  • File Type: Abstracts must be submitted as a MS Word file (.doc or .docx).
  • File Name: Please title the abstract file as follows, the presenter’s entire last name, followed by the first initial of their first name plus the word “Abstract”. Example: “SmithJAbstract.doc”
  • Page Format: 8.5″ x 11″ page with 1-inch margins and 12-point Helvetica font.
  • Page Limit: 1 page for complete abstract.
  • Title: The abstract title should be in all CAPITAL letters.
  • Authors: Authors should be listed as full first name and last name. The name of each presenting author (student) should be underlined. The presenting undergraduate author(s) should be first author(s) and the research mentor should be the last author. Any co-authors who are not presenting should be included between the presenter(s) and research mentor. Affiliations should be included for all authors/co-authors and noted using superscript numbers. NOTE: If you are co-presenting, i.e. presenting the same poster with another individual, the abstract submission form will be the registration for both participants. Co-presentations can be only with pairs, groups of three or more are not accepted.
  • Affiliations: The format for affiliations should be as follows: Department of XXX, PresenterInstitutionName, StreetAddress, City, State (abbreviation) ZIPCODE. Example: Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029. The presenter’s affiliation should be the college or university where the presenter is working toward his or her undergraduate degree. Other presenters may have the same or different affiliation. Presenters can also have multiple affiliations, this should be indicated by have multiple superscripts.
  • Body of Abstract: Maximum word count is 300. (Title, authors, affiliations and acknowledgement statement are not included in word limit). Paragraphs must be indented using a tab. No references should be used in the abstract.
  • Acknowledgement Statement: This should specifically recognize funding support of the research project. Program coordinators, directors and/or research mentors can provide this information to student researchers. We request that the acknowledgment statement is formatted in complete sentences.

Abstract Content Instructions:

  • Suggested content for the body of the abstract on the presenter’s research includes: background, research question, approach and experiments, and conclusion.
  • Remember that the presenter’s research mentor must approve the final abstract before it is submitted. (It may take a few rewrites to get a final version, so please allow ample time for the mentor review process.) Mentors must confirm their approval to the Symposium Abstract Review Team using the online abstract confirmation form.
  • Please check and correct all spelling and grammar before submitting the abstract.

Each individual or pair of co-presenters should complete a single abstract submission form. The maximum number of co-presenters is two per poster; groups of three or more are not excepted.

Abstract Submission and Presenter Registration Form

Abstract Submission Deadline: Monday, October 1st