Call for Abstracts 2011

The Scientific Program Committee of the American Academy of Optometry invites the submission of abstracts May 1-31, 2011, for the Scientific Program of Academy 2011 Boston to be held Wednesday, October 12 - Saturday, October 15, 2011, in Boston, MA.

today!

The Academy's Scientific Program offers scientists, educators, and clinicians the opportunity to exchange the latest information in optometry and vision science in two formats, research paper presentations and scientific posters.

Research paper presentation sessions are thematically organized and authors will present a summary of their unpublished original research in lecture format and field questions on their work (12 minutes lecture, 3 minutes for questions). These sessions will also include invited presentations from prominent scientists.

Scientific poster presentations provide a visual presentation of recent research findings with additional opportunities to interact, discuss, and debate research with the authors.

SUBMITTING AN ABSTRACT

New Policies for 2011

• Authors are required to transfer the copyright for their submitted abstract to the American Academy of Optometry.
• Authors are permitted a maximum of two first-author presentations within the scientific program. Any combination of paper or poster presentations are permitted, however, no more than two first-author submissions will be accepted. There is no limit to the number of co-authored submissions, e.g. authors may be listed as second, third or other position on any number of submissions.

AAO POLICIES FOR THE SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM

1. Authors presenting their work at the Annual Meeting MUST be registered for the meeting.
2. The first author is solely responsible for presentation of accepted abstracts. Multiple presenters or substitute presenters, e.g. co-authors, are not permitted.
3. The first author is required to assure that the abstract complies with each of the following ethical and regulatory standards, insofar as they are applicable:
   1. Research involving human subjects was conducted in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Declaration of Helsinki and in adherence of applicable national and local human subjects requirements.
   2. Research involving animal subjects was conducted in accordance with international standards for animal treatment and care, as published, for example, by the Society of Neuroscience and ARVO.
4. The first author is responsible for disclosing the financial interests of all the listed authors as instructed on the abstract submission form. Any financial conflicts of interest must also be disclosed as part of the presentation, whether a paper or poster presentation.
5. All coauthors must read the final, submitted version of the abstract and explicitly consent to listing their name as an author. The first author is responsible for assuring that all coauthors have had the opportunity to do so.
6. Submissions containing previously published copyrighted material (e.g. ARVO abstracts or journal articles) will be rejected.
7. Submissions may be rejected if the author(s) have failed to make scheduled presentations at previous meetings.
8. Presenters are encouraged to consider the Academy's journal, Optometry & Vision Science (OVS), as their journal of choice for publishing the results of their accepted presentation.

Preparing Your Abstract for Submission

Members of the Scientific Program Committee provided a workshop presentation on the preparation of scientific abstracts at Academy 2010 San Francisco. This presentation provides useful advice and instructions for authors planning and preparing scientific abstracts. An archive of this presentation can be viewed HERE

AAO ABSTRACT EVALUATION CRITERIA:

1. Scientific or clinical novelty
2. Methodologically sound
3. Quantitative description of the results
4. Conclusions that are substantiated by the results

• The abstract must meet all the evaluation criteria listed above.
• The abstract describes a scientifically sound investigation of the idea or product.
• All conflicts of interest and author affiliations must be clearly disclosed.

If the abstract is about teaching methodology, student evaluations/assessment or curriculum

• Authors should submit the abstract as a scientific presentation.
• The abstract must include a systemic evaluation of the method, assessment/curriculum

If the abstract is a case report or case series:

• The report cannot be solely a review of information already in the literature.
• The report must be novel, highlighting cutting edge information or describing unique treatments or management.
• Presenters must adhere to HIPAA rules regarding patient confidentiality
  

Select the category that represents the type of case.

Scientific Case Reports

• The case generates a new theory or possible explanation for pathogensis of disease, treatment or adverse event
• The case leads to questions regarding a new theory or conventional clinical wisdom
• The case demonstrates the application of a new technology that provides new information about a condition or a disease.

Educational Case Reports

• The case content (management or diagnosis) is controversial
• The case contains an unusual combination of conditions, events or rare features that confound the diagnosis or management
• The case highlights a significant and unexpected adverse responses to therapies
• The case demonstrates unique therapies
• The case demonstrates an important concept that can be generalized to other cases.

HOW TO SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT

1. Submitted abstracts will be accepted only through this website. The Academy will not accept e-mail submissions, submissions on printed forms, or by fax.
2. Abstracts will be accepted from May 1, through 11:59 PM EDT May 31, 2011.
3. Click on the “Course/Abstract Enter” button, located above. There you will find specific instructions on how to submit your abstract. Academy members must first log in with their member ID and password, while non-members must register as a non-member author before submitting an abstract. (If you do not remember your log in information, please contact . Please do NOT create a duplicate non-member author record.)
4. Authors must specify a preference for the format of their presentation from among the following choices:
   1. Scientific Presentation - paper first choice, poster second
   2. Scientific Presentation - poster first choice, paper second
   3. Scientific Case report/case series (poster only)
   4. Educational Case report/case series (poster only)
   5. Academy information poster (typically highlights training/educational programs)
5. Authors will be provided with the following set of standard headings to structure their abstract: PURPOSE, METHODS, RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS. Authors who submit a Case Report (CR) are asked to structure their abstracts using alternate headings: BACKGROUND, CASE REPORT(S), CONCLUSIONS.
6. Select a Primary Topic from the following list. This will be used to group your abstract with others of similar topics.
   1. Academy Information
   2. Binocular vision
   3. Contact lenses – gas permeable
   4. Contact lenses – hydrogel
   5. Cornea/anterior segment/external/dry eye
   6. Epidemiology
   7. Glaucoma
   8. Health policy/health care delivery
   9. Low vision
   10. Neuro-ophthalmic & orbit
   11. Ocular physiology
   12. Optics/refractive error/refractive surgery
   13. Pediatric optometry
   14. Posterior Segment
   15. Optometric education
   16. Systemic & other disease
   17. Visual function/perception
7. Select from 1 to 3 keywords from the drop-down lists. These keywords will be used to categorize abstracts, and in abstract searches. (Note: At least one keyword must be selected.)
8. Authors who wish to present an abstract containing information or announcements of general interest to Academy members and other meeting attendees (e.g., “How to Become a Diplomate in...”) should submit an abstract using the AI (Academy Information) General Topic/Section and Primary Topic. AI posters generally convey information of a non-scientific and non-clinical nature and are usually presented for multiple days.
9. Each accepted abstract will be allocated 2200 characters, including the title, author names, and affiliations. Submissions that exceed this limit will not be accepted by the web site; the submitter will immediately be given the opportunity to modify the submission so that it fits within this size limit. Authors are encouraged to keep abstracts succinct, to avoid long author lists, and to list only one institutional affiliation per author.
10. Please limit the number of degrees listed to the three highest, not including the FAAO. The Academy's convention is to write degrees without periods.
11. Special characters and formatting (e.g. superscripts, accents, underlining) are limited to those that can be specified with HTML tags. A pop-up window available on the submission screen will assist with special characters. Special formats and codes (e.g. for tables, columns, graphics) will not be interpreted correctly by the web site, and should not be included.
12. Students, please consider applying to receive a Student Travel Fellowship once your abstract is accepted. These $750.00 awards are available to optometry students, optometric residents, and students in vision science graduate programs. The Research Committee hopes to ensure the broadest awareness of the program among eligible student researchers. The highly successful fellowship program was created to promote the research aims of the Academy and to infuse a mix of young members into the Academy. Application guidelines are available here.
13. Primary authors will receive immediate confirmation that their abstract was received, via an e-mail confirmation sent to the address listed for the primary author. If an e-mail confirmation is not received within a few minutes, authors should send an e-mail query to SciProg@aaoptom.org. Include the words “receipt confirmation” in the Subject field of your message.