CSM: Annual Conference - Call for Abstracts

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Call for Abstracts

		Conference Details
		How To Submit Abstracts
		Preparation of Abstracts
		Preparation of Posters
		Student Award - Symposium Competition
		Student Award - Poster Competition

Conference Details

	Meeting:	60th Annual Conference of the Canadian Society of Microbiologists
	Date:	June 14 - 17, 2010
	Location:	Hamilton, ON
	Venue:	McMaster University
	Opening Date:	February 16, 2010
	Closing Date:	April 30, 2010

Welcome! The 60th Annual Conference of the Canadian Society of Microbiologists is taking place from June 14th-17th, 2010, at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. The Local Organizing Committee has put together an outstanding scientific program that highlights leading edge research in Canada and internationally. We encourage the participation of graduate students, post-docs, PIs and all interested scientists at the conference. We look forward to joining you for a meeting filled with opportunities for rich scientific exchange, and in addition, hope that you have the opportunity to experience the beauty of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton Harbour and the wonders of the nearby Niagara Falls and Niagara vineyards. Sincerely, Marie Elliot and Turlough Finan Chairs, Local Organizing Committee CSM 2010

How to Submit Abstracts

An abstract must be submitted on the official abstract web form. Abstracts may be submitted, and presentations made, in either French or English. Once all abstracts have been collected, these will be available in the abstract library on the website.

Abstracts are required for all symposia speakers and for the student competitions.

Preparation of Abstracts

The abstract should contain a concise statement of (i) the problem under investigation, (ii) the experimental methods used, (iii) the essential results obtained, and (iv) a conclusion. Do not state, for example, that "the results will be discussed". An abstract is not a formal publication and therefore should not include literature references or grant acknowledgements, etc.

Program and Abstracts of this meeting will be prepared electronically. Abstracts will not be edited in any way. Thus, every error that appears in the submitted abstract will appear in the printed abstract. If you do not wish to have your abstract published on the web, then please check the appropriate box on the web form. Abstract text (without title) should be no longer than 3000 characters, including HTML tags.

SUBJECT CATEGORIES

For the purpose of review and programming only, abstracts will be divided into categories. Indicate the category you have chosen.

A.	Applied and Environmental Microbiology

	The scope of interests in the Applied and Environmental Microbiology section includes two large fields in microbiology. The Environmental Microbiology field includes the study of microorganisms found in soils, sediments, water and air, and their relation to each other and to humans, animals and plants. The Applied Microbiology field includes microorganisms involved in all kinds of biotechnology such as found in food science, agriculture, value-added products from biomass, waste treatment and bioremediation, pharmacology… People interested in these fields are welcome.
B.	Infection and Immunity

	The scope of interests of the Infection and Immunity (II) section includes microbial pathogenesis, medical and veterinary microbiology, host-pathogen interactions, immunity to microbial infections, and the usage and development of vaccines and therapies against infectious diseases. People whose research involves the study of bacteria, viruses, and eukaryotic microbes causing infectious diseases of humans, animals, and/or plants are welcome.
C.	Molecular Genetics and Cellular Microbiology

	This section encompasses all aspects of microbiology that are not commonly thought of as directly environmental or medically significant. As such the interests encompass all aspects of molecular and microbial genetics (gene to genome), physiology and biochemistry (metabolite to whole organism) that deal with the life of the organism and its interactions with its surroundings. People who feel that their interests lie within these parameters are welcome.
D.	Symposium speaker

	This section is only intended for authors who have been invited by the symposia organizers as a Speaker.

Preparation of Posters

As a major guideline, it is proposed that the posters be prepared so that they are intelligible in themselves, even in the absence of the authors and without studying the abstracts. It is suggested that the contents of each poster be divided into four categories: Introduction, Results, Discussion and Summary. The Introduction should include a background summary and state the purpose of the study in relation to previous work in the field. The Results should be divided into sections, using sub-headings, which indicate the nature of the most important findings to be illustrated. In general, as few results as possible, i.e. just those necessary to validate the conclusion, should be shown. The Discussion should give the interpretation and the significance of the results, and an easily remembered "take home message", even if speculative, summarizing the conclusions. The Summary should list the pertinent results and conclusions.

Keep the text to a minimum. Use point form. Eliminate all but the vital elements. Emphasis should be on tables, charts, graphs and photos. Layout of the poster is important: sections should be clearly defined with adequate spacing. The poster can be divided either horizontally or vertically into three or four sections, and material placed within those sections. When choosing a background colour, select a neutral one that will be easier on the eyes. Dark photographs look darker on a light background (black is good for electron micrographs). Colour photographs look best when mounted on a neutral or grayish background. A single background colour should be used to unify the poster.

The poster should be readable from a distance of 1-2 meters. Therefore, the minimum height of graphs without the ordinate labeling and of tables should be 20 cm. The following letter-size is suggested: headings such as Introduction, Results, Discussion and Summary: 12-16 mm, sub-headings within the results, labeling of figure and tables and the keyboard text, no smaller than 5 mm. Information typed on a standard typewriter is in no case acceptable. A word with the first letter capitalized and the remaining letters in lower case is easier to read than a WORD all in capital letters.

For each poster, the number assigned to the poster (paper number) must be placed in the upper left hand corner of the display. Authors should also prepare a heading label, to include the title of the poster, the authors and their addresses. The text height should be at least 40 mm high. The heading should be placed at the top center of the poster.

Student Award - Symposium Competition

Attention Students: Benefits of participating in the Student Award competition. If you are one of the 12 students selected for the Student Symposium (Participants will be declared after the competition deadline):

participate in the travel bursary
certificate of participation
opportunity to win a cash prize and a plaque

Three awards will be presented to the three best student oral presentations and extended abstracts. Each award consists of $500.00 cash and a plaque. These awards are sponsored by the Triosyn Research, the Canadian College of Microbiology and Cedarlane Laboratories Ltd.

Procedure

Not a Member?

A maximum of twelve (12) oral presentations will be made in a Student Award Symposium. The selection of students for this symposium will be made on the basis of a previously submitted written extended abstract. If more than twelve students apply for the three awards, extended abstracts will be pre-judged by the CSM Education Committee, and the twelve best selected for the symposium. The other abstracts will be scheduled in the poster sessions. Either the student applying for the award or one of the other authors of the paper must be a member of the CSM. Extended abstracts are due on or before April 30, 2010.

To Enter

To enter the competition, students must do the following:

1. All abstracts must be submitted using the web form on the CSM web site. Complete all sections of the web form as indicated.

2. Submit this abstract form by April 30, 2010. At this time, the student should also indicate his/her intention to enter the competition. A student cannot submit more than 1 abstract as the presenting author in this competition.

3. In addition, submit an extended abstract (pdf) of 1000 words, including a maximum of 4 figures and/or tables that will be included. The extended abstract must be submitted no later than April 30, 2010.

4. The extended abstract. The extended abstract must have its own abstract consisting of no more than 50 words. Do not use section headings in the body of the paper. Include a brief introduction, methods, results and discussion in a single section. The text should not exceed 1000 words. A maximum of 4 figures and/or tables is allowed. Materials and methods should be described in the text, not in figure legends or table footnotes. The Literature Cited section should conform to the format used by the Canadian Journal of Microbiology.

5. The submitted material will be adjudicated as follows:

Abstracts submitted for the CSM Students Award by the April 30, 2010 deadline will be reviewed along with all other abstracts submitted for the annual meeting.
Extended abstracts received by the Chair of the Education Committee will be distributed to members of the committee for judging. The extended abstracts will be judged according to their scientific merit (see Competition Guidelines). The students will be notified as to whether or not their paper has been retained for the Student Award Symposium.
For evaluation of the oral presentations, the Chair of the Education Committee will select a panel of at least three (3) members from the Education Committee, the Graduate Scholarship Committee, or the membership at large to grade the oral presentations. This panel will not include members of the Education Committee involved in the pre-judging (see Competition Guidelines) not the symposium chair.
The three winners will be selected from the combined assessment of their extended abstract and oral presentation. The awards will be presented by the Chair of the Education Committee at the CSM banquet. The 12 participants in the Student Award Symposium will have their banquet tickets costs reimbursed.

Competition Guidelines

1. Written Submission
Members of the Education Committee will review each extended abstract submitted for the competition and award a mark out of 40, as follows:

Scientific merit (20 marks): Is the work scientifically sound? Does the work significantly advance knowledge in the discipline? Are the methods and results reliable? Do the results support the conclusions?
Clearly defined objectives of the research (5 marks).
Strict adherence of the abstract in length and format guidelines. (For example, is the bibliography presented in CJM style?) (10 marks).
Suitability of Figures and Tables for presentation (5 marks).

2. Oral Presentation
Each presentation will last a maximum of 12 minutes followed by 3 minutes for questions from the audience. The panel of judges will evaluate the presentations (70 marks). The judges have no knowledge of the written evaluation and rate each presentation using the following criteria:

A brief and lucid introduction to the research (5 marks). A person unfamiliar with the subject should be able to ascertain what the research is about and what knowledge currently exists on the subject.
A clear definition of the objectives of the work (5 marks).
A clear, audible speaking style and speed at all times (5 marks).
The student addresses the audience rather than the notes, blackboard, slides, or feet (5 marks).
Distinctly visible, understandable, and properly labeled graphics (Figures, Tables, etc.) (10 marks).
The student specifically indicates to the audience the significant information contained in the graphics (15 marks).
The scientific content of the paper is of good quality and the message is clearly imparted to the audience (10 marks).
A summary or a list of conclusions is presented at the end of the talk (5 marks).
Ending within the allotted time. (5 marks).
Ability to respond to questions (5 marks).

Travel Bursary

The CSM will be providing some assistance to students competing in the CSM Student Award Competition. A total of $2,000.00 will be available to help defray the travel costs of students who have been selected to compete in the competition. This is a bursary, not a prize, and those who have the greatest travel expenses will benefit the most.

The 12 students selected to compete in the CSM Student Award Competition are eligible to receive reimbursement from the CSM for travel costs (or portion thereof) incurred in attending the Annual General Meeting. This travel bursary can be obtained by submitting official receipts (or legible copies thereof) from the commercial carrier (gasoline receipts may be acceptable, if applicable). That portion of travel expense to be supported by the CSM will be determined by dividing the $2,000 by the total amount claimed by all students. Only travel expenses may be submitted. Receipts should be submitted after the meeting and must be received by the CSM Secretariat by July 30 of the meeting year. Cheques will be mailed by August 30 to the person or institution designated by the application.

Student Award - Poster Competition

Not a Member?

The poster competition is intended to give students a forum to compete for a prize that should exemplify excellent work as well as clear communication of results and conclusions in the poster format. Three (3) ex aequo prizes will be awarded.

To participate in this competition, the poster presenter must be a student member of the Canadian Society of Microbiology.

Entry

A willingness to participate in the poster competition will be made with the submission of the abstract. The authors will indicate which section will be responsible for the ranking of the poster: infection and immunity, applied and environmental, or molecular genetics and cellular microbiology. Not all abstracts submitted will be chosen. A student can submit only one abstract as presenter in a Student Award Competition, and this abstract can be submitted to only one Student Award Competition.

To enter the competition, students must do the following:

All abstracts must be submitted using the web form on the CSM web site. Complete all sections of the web form as indicated. Submit this abstract form by April 30, 2010. At this time, the student should also indicated his/her intention to enter the competition.

Selection of competitors

The selection of abstracts for the poster competition will be the responsibility of the chair and vice-chair of each section. If for any reason either is unable to rank the abstracts the chair can appoint a second referee or even a third party to assist with the rankings (eg conflict of interest, time constraint, emergency). A maximum of eight (8) posters from each section will be retained for the competition, while the other posters will be presented as part of the regular poster sessions.

The overall ranking of the poster abstracts eligible for the competition will be agreed upon by the chair and vice-chair in each section, and will be based on the scientific merit of the materials described in the abstract. The contestants will then be notified as to whether their abstract has been selected for the poster competition.

The right to have a number less than 8 can be exercised by an individual section, if the quality of the abstracts does not warrant that the poster should enter the competition. The overall selection of eligible posters will not count in determining the winners.

The Competition

No less than 14 days prior to the conference, the contestants will submit a pdf file that will contain their poster as it will be presented. The pdf files will be collected centrally and distributed to the appropriate judging panels. For this year's competition, the pdf files are to be sent to info@csm-scm.org.

Once the poster abstracts have been selected, all of these posters will be pooled. The rationale for this is that if the 3 best are from one section then they should all win.

Judging panel

Each poster will be judged by three people. Judges #1 and #2 will contribute 35 marks each, Judge #3 will contribute 30 marks for a total score out or 100. The scores will be given to the chair of the Education and Careers Committee or his delegate who will oversee the tabulation of the scores. The person compiling and tabulating the scores must not have been a judge in the poster award competition, nor can be a co-author on any of the posters in competition.

Judges #1 and #2 will be either a chair or vice-chair from one of the sections. To spread out the judging between sections, each poster will be judged by either the chair or vice chair of the section to which they belong and the second judge will be from one of the other 2 sections. Judge #3 will be chosen from the membership at large. Judge #3 will not be a section chair or vice-chair, and will not be a co-author on any of the posters in competition.

Judge #1 and #2 criteria
25 marks judging submitted pdf
10 marks judging by questions to poster presenter
35 marks

The rationale for this portion is that the poster should be finished ahead of time. This will allow the judges to look through the data, judge the poster as a written document, and formulate intelligent questions to ask prior to the actual poster session. This will allow the poster section to go more quickly. As well it will mean the student should be aware that the poster is to be understandable in their absence.

Judge #3
The third judge will be judging the poster and the contents without having the benefit of seeing the poster ahead of time. Many times you actually do not get a chance to see a poster presenter and need to make a poster out depending on what you overhear or can make out by yourself under crowded circumstances. This is the role of Judge 3. Whereas the other judges will have prepared questions and hopefully developed an understanding of the material presented from the pre-submitted pdf, Judge 3 will really be the person who sees the poster for the first time and will judge it accordingly.