Abstract Instructions BLAST XVIII
The deadline for submitting talk abstracts is November 1, 2024. About 50 abstracts will be chosen for talks, with no more than one speaker per lab. Priority is generally given to labs that have not given talks at recent BLAST meetings, with an emphasis on talks by graduate students, postdoctoral scientists, and early career investigators. If you are not chosen for a talk, we'd love to hear about your research in a poster.
The deadline for submitting poster abstracts (in-person and online posters) is December 1, 2024. There is no limit on the number of posters.
If you have any questions or issues, please contact Sarah Van Heusen at blast.sarahvh@gmail.com.
Instructions:
There is no limit on the number of words. However, each abstract must include a figure, and the text (including title, authors, and affiliations) plus figure together cannot exceed one page (US standard size 8.5 inches X 11 inches) with one-inch margins. To assess the length of your abstract, use 12 point Times New Roman, or a similar size font, for all lettering. It will be easiest to compose your abstract offline following the instructions below and then copy/paste your document into the box below. Note that you will need to paste your figure separately, after all of your text.
Each abstract must include the following four text sections, with subheadings labeled in bold font:
Background. Describe the problem under investigation, the question being answered, and/or the hypothesis being tested. Include enough information to orient a person who is not in your particular field.
Methods. Briefly indicate the experimental methods used.
Results. Summarize the essential results.
Conclusion. Provide an interpretation of your findings that is supported by your results. Detailed discussion of results is not necessary (we can hear all about that at the meeting). A few concluding sentences should suffice to summarize the main findings.
Figure. BLAST attendees represent various scientific disciplines from around the world. To facilitate communication with our diverse audience, each abstract must include an informative figure. In general, a figure that explains background information or summarizes conclusions will be more useful for this purpose than a figure with experimental data. The figure will appear in color in the digital abstract book.
Insert Figure. Use the picture icon in the toolbar to insert your figure as a single image file (for example .jpg, .png, .tiff) after your text. Do not use a format that retains links to data on your computer (for example figures made with graphing software). IMPORTANT: Insert your figure after all of your text. Figures located elsewhere are destroyed when downloading your abstract for the program book, even if the abstract looks good on the website.
Hyperlinks. If you would like to provide the reader with more information about aspects of your abstract, you can insert hyperlinks to databases, websites, etc. using the chain link icon in the toolbar.
References are optional. If you include references, type them yourself. Do not insert with bibliographic software. Such software uses links to a reference library on your computer and will cause problems when we assemble the program book.
Submit Abstract at the following link.
https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/2235/submitter