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Abstract and Poster Information

 

Information for Submitters
The ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting will be held from April 13 – 16, 2021 as a virtual experience. The meeting will be brought to you through an innovative, interactive and engaging platform that will capture the excitement of being at the ACMG Annual Meeting. 60 of the highest rated reviewed abstracts will become Platform Presentations and the remaining accepted abstracts will become posters, displayed in an online ePoster Gallery. The goal of the ACMG annual meeting is to present new scientific knowledge and provide attendees with research results and tools to translate genetic discoveries into state of the art patient care.
Please read the guidelines for Abstract Submission, listed below, before submitting an abstract. *Guidelines are subject to change*
See the published abstracts in a online supplement of Molecular Genetics and Metabolism.


Important Dates
 
November 9, 2020
Online abstract submission site opens
TBA
Deadline to complete platform presenter documents
January 15, 2021, 11:59 pm PT
Deadline to submit an abstract(s)
Deadline to submit for an abstract award
March 8 (Deadline change)
Poster withdrawal deadline
February 8, 2021
Acceptance/Rejection Notifications are emailed
Platform Presenter Assignments are emailed
March 19, 2021
Platform Presentation recording upload deadline
Platform presentation test questions submitted
Poster upload with audio presentation
 
February 15, 2021
Early Bird Registration Deadline
April 13 - 16, 2021
See you at the virtual experience!
 
VIEW ABSTRACTS
       

Guidelines for Uploading Electronic Posters (ePosters), mp3 Audio Tours and Transcript

The guidelines below will provide all the information you need for the preparation and upload of your electronic poster.

GENERAL INFORMATION
ePosters are to be submitted and presented in a PDF format. You have the option to upload an MP3 audio file to accompany your poster. The ePoster PDF is limited to 10 MB and an MP3 file is limited to 400 MB. Upload ePoster and Audio Tour by March 19th.
• Monday, March 8 (March 19) Deadline Change to withdrawal due to publishing in the journal of Molecular Genetics and Metabolism. A written request to withdraw must be submitted no later than March 8, 2021 to Education@ACMG.net if the first author decides to withdraw the abstract for any reason.

Posters will be uploaded to a website, the link to that will be communicated separately to poster authors by email after the abstract review period is completed.

PREPARING YOUR POSTER MATERIAL
Compliance Requirements
1. As the official meeting language is English, all electronic poster presentations are to be in English.
2. Advertising of products is prohibited.
3. Patient anonymity must be ensured at all times.
4. The name of the presentation file should include the abstract number and presenter’s last name. To avoid any compatibility problems, please do not use special characters (e.g. «, Ö, Ø, ñ, ε, ®, ý, }, { etc.) in your poster file name.
5. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that all parts of the poster (figures, tables, images, etc.) are free of any third party right and/or cited correctly.
Tips for Designing Your Poster
1. Text: The guiding principle should be “As much as necessary, as little as possible”. The text should be concise and to the point, key facts should be highlighted.
2. Colors: Colors should be used sparingly. Choose color combinations that make your text easy to read (preferably dark background with light fonts; avoid red and green).
3. Layout: Should be in the logical order of the content. A clear and well-structured arrangement is the most attractive and the easiest to read on the screen.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
1. Format of ePoster: (REQUIRED) Adobe PDF and the maximum file size per poster should be 10 MB.
2. Audio Tour:
• Upload an audio recording of a 1-5-minute presentation summary of your poster (RECOMMENDED). a. This must be in a .mp3 file format and cannot exceed 400 MB
• To audio record your presentation, you can utilize an online audio recording site (example: https://online-voice-recorder.com/) or use a voice recording app on your smart phone then upload the file.
3. Page orientation: Set the slide size of the page to "On-screen show" and landscape orientation in the page set-up section. Portrait orientation will not be displayed properly.
4. Fonts: Do not use special fonts which are not part of the standard PowerPoint package, as this will cause problems while uploading your file.

QR CODES:
QR codes are allowed as long as they are for educational purposes only and when they do not reference a third party that produces, markets, re-sells, or distributes health care goods or services consumed by our used on patients.

UPLOADING OF ELECTRONIC POSTERS
All Poster presenters have reeived an email with instructions for uploading their ePoster and accompanying audio tour. Posters sent by email will not be accommodated in the system and will be considered as not submitted.

VIEWING DURING THE VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
Posters will be embargoed until Wednesday, April 14 at 7:00 AM ET. A powerful search engine supports searching for ePosters by title, poster number, author, or presenter and filter information topic, or keyword.

Abstract Presentation Types

During submission, abstract submitters must choose one of the three submission types in which they would like the abstract considered for acceptance. The choice of presentation type must be made at the time of submission and cannot be changed after the review committee has reached its decision.

Submission options:

1. Poster Presentation Only
• Abstracts submitted for Poster presentation only will NOT be considered for a platform presentation, regardless of score.

2. Platform Presentation Only (recording required)
• Abstracts submitted for platform presentation only will NOT be considered for an ePoster, regardless of score.

3. Platform or Poster Presentation
• Abstract will be considered as a platform presentation or as an Poster, depending on score.
 

Topic Categories

Research and/or studies must fit into one of the ACMG 2021 Abstract Categories.
  - Clinical genetics and therapeutics
  - Cancer genetics and therapeutics
  - Prenatal genetics
  - Biochemical and metabolic genetics
  - Genetic counseling
  - Public health, health services and implementation
  - Legal and ethical issues; education
  - Laboratory genetics and genomics

Responsibilities of the First Author/Presenting Author

• The submitter serves as point of contact for all correspondence regarding the abstract.
• The presenting author must be one of the co-authors listed on the submitted abstract. The presenting author must be confirmed prior to abstract submission.
• The presenting author is responsible for the following:
    - Ensuring that all authors have read the abstract and agreed to be co-authors. Failure to get approval from all authors will result in rejection of the abstract.
    - Notifying all co-authors of any additions, deletions, and changes to the program, as may be communicated by ACMG.
• An individual may be first author (i.e., presenting author) of more than one abstract. If the first author should have multiple accepted posters and has a conflict with the poster presentation schedule, then it is acceptable to designate one of the co- authors to present one of the posters.

Author's Consent and Waiver of Claims

• Each abstract author agrees and certifies that he or she:
    - has read all of the rules and agrees to be bound by them,
    - is responsible for submission of the abstract in accordance with the rules, and
    - waives any and all claims against ACMG and any reviewer arising out of or relating to the abstract submission and review process, including but not limited to peer review and the grading of abstracts.

Abstract Submission Requirements

• The abstract must address scientific questions, detail clinical observations, and/or contain primary scientific data. We encourage authors to highlight why their abstract is novel or how it provides a unique contribution or perspective.
• Authors assign copyright of the abstract to ACMG upon submission, unless one of the authors is a U.S. Federal employee (in such case, ACMG does not hold copyright). This means that the identical abstract may not be republished or submitted to another meeting.
• All research and studies reported in submitted abstracts that involve human and animal subjects must comply with the guiding principles for experimental procedures found in the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association.
• Interim analysis of a prospective randomized clinical trial will be considered only if it is performed as planned in the original protocol and is statistically valid. If your abstract involves interim analysis, use the Interim Analysis of a Clinical Trial section of the abstract form to explain the details of your study. The reviewers will have this information available during their evaluation.
• No revisions can be made after the abstract submission deadline (January 8, 2021).
• The presentation at the annual meeting must reflect the submitted abstract. In particular, the abstract title, authorship, and scientific content of the presentation at the annual meeting must match the submitted abstract.
• Abstracts should be written in clear and concise English, so that reviewers can focus solely on the scientific merits of the submission. We encourage non-English-speaking authors to have their abstracts checked for grammar and spelling prior to submission.
• It is assumed that the presenting author will have adequate command of English to present and to respond to questions. If that is not the case, the authors should choose an Poster as their preference.
• Abstracts can be submitted if:
- It is unpublished and original
- Accepted for publication but not yet published
- Encore presentations are allowed, only if material was previously presented at a non-genetics meeting within the last 6 – 12 months.

Abstract Review and Selection Process

• After the submission deadline, all completed and eligible abstracts will be made available to the ACMG Abstract Reviewers for review and scoring..
• Abstracts will be evaluated and scored solely on their scientific merits.
• Incomplete abstracts will not be reviewed.
• Abstracts based on the same study with the same content reworded must not be submitted as multiple abstracts. Abstracts that are simply different versions of a single study will be rejected.
• Abstracts will be peer reviewed according to the subject categories. Authors must indicate during online submission the appropriate review category (one only). All category selections will be final. There will be NO re-classification of abstracts after the abstract submission site has been closed. Abstracts submitted in the wrong category are scored in that category and may receive a lower score as a result.
• All abstracts submitted will be considered eligible for one presentation format as explained above: either a platform or an Poster.
    - Platform Presentations are formal oral presentations (15 minutes) that include a brief discussion. Of the abstracts selected, four of the highest rated will be featured in a special plenary session. For 2021 we will require presentations to be recorded following ACMG guidelines (to be sent later) by March 19th, 2021. This serves multiple purposes of planning in advance of potential meeting disruptions onsite. Additionally, platform presenters will need to follow standard presentation protocols with completion of recording release, HIPAA documentation, financial disclosure, and provision of learning objective and peer reviewed test question per guidelines (to be sent later).
    - Poster Sessions allow the viewing of an Poster illustration of the abstract. Details regarding the audio recording of your Poster and other instructions will be provided in January 2021.

Acceptance/Rejection Notification
• Notification regarding acceptance or rejection of abstracts will be sent to the presenting author the week of February 8, 2021 by email; consequently, an accurate email address is critical. If your abstract is accepted, the email will specify whether it is accepted as platform or Poster presentation.
• The decision of the ACMG Program Committee regarding acceptance and presentation of abstracts is final.

Abstract Withdrawal

• Once an abstract is accepted, a written request to withdraw must be submitted no later than March 8, 2021, to Education@ACMG.net if the first author decides to withdraw the abstract for any reason. Abstract withdrawal requests received after the deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• ACMG reserves the right to withdraw abstracts that are in violation of the College’s policies and guidelines, have been deemed scientifically unsound, or have been found to include inaccurate data, etc.
• For any abstract submitters with non-withdrawn abstracts who do not fulfill their professional commitment of presenting at the meeting, ACMG reserves the right to consider this information in the selection of abstracts for presentation in the future.

Abstract Submission Policies

Financial Disclosure Policy
It is the policy of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics to plan and implement all of its educational activities in accordance with the ACCME Essentials and Areas and ACCME® Policies to ensure balance, independence, objectivity and scientific rigor. In accordance with the ACCME® Standards for Commercial Support, everyone (speakers, moderators, platform presenters, all authors, committee members, and staff) who is in a position to control the content of an educational activity certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ is required to disclose all financial relationships with any commercial interests (see definition below) within the past 12 months that creates a real or apparent conflict of interest. Individuals who do not disclose are disqualified from participating in a CME activity.

This disclosure pertains to relationships with: pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or other corporations whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the presentation topic. Any real or apparent conflicts of interest related to the content of the presentations must be resolved prior to the educational activity. Disclosure of off-label, experimental or investigational use of drugs or devices must also be made known to the audience.
• By completing this section of the online abstract submission, you agree that you have read the ACMG Financial Disclosure Policy and that you understand and support its intent.
• This policy is not intended to prevent a presentation; it is merely intended to openly identify potential conflicts so that audience members may form their own judgments about the presentation with a full disclosure of the facts.

Platform Presenters Responsibility Regarding Financial Disclosure (ACCME Compliance)
Accreditation Rules
• The presenting author for a platform presentation will be contacted and must complete the online financial disclosure form and additional items pertaining to their presentation and participation.
• Employees of ACCME defined commercial interests may not present a CME platform presentation.
• The content of the information with which you are involved will promote quality in health care or advances in science and will not promote a specific proprietary or commercial interest. Content for this publication will be well-balanced and unbiased.

Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Definition of Commercial Interests
• A commercial interest is any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients.
• A diagnostic laboratory is not considered an ACCME-defined commercial interest if its business is limited to the provision of diagnostic services that provide clinical results or information to healthcare professionals for their treatment of patients.

How to Submit an Abstract

The abstract submission site opens on November 9, 2020

All abstracts must be submitted by Friday, January 15, 2021, 11:59 pm PT. Submissions that are incomplete by the deadline will be rejected.
• Abstracts must be submitted online through the official online abstract submission system. Emails and word processing files not submitted through the site will not be accepted.
• Once you have submitted the title page information, a draft of your abstract will be saved, and you will be able to return to edit and update it at any time until January 15, 2021, at 11:59 p.m., PT. You can log back into the abstract portal at www.acmgmeeting.net.
• For technical support click the "Feedback and Support" tab to the right of your screen. Technical support for Administrative Application users provided by phone and email during the hours of 9:00 am -5:00 pm CT on regular working days (excluding weekends and holidays).

Preparing an Abstract for Submission

Contact Information
• Your name, degree, institution, address, phone number, and email address must be provided. As the corresponding author, you will receive all future correspondence from ACMG.
• The submitting author should be the first author (presenter) of the abstract, unless otherwise noted during submission.

Co-Authors
• Names of co-authors and institutions must be provided. Changes will not be made to the spelling of authors’ names after the submission deadline; please proof your co-authors’ names carefully.

Copyright Policy
• All authors must assign copyright of the abstract to ACMG, unless one of the authors is a U.S. Federal employee (in such case, ACMG does not hold copyright).

Abstract Title
• The abstract title should be brief and clearly indicate the nature of the abstract. You may use up to 20 words.
• The abstract title must be in title case. Capitalize all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions (i.e., as, because, although). Except for the first word of the title, lowercase all articles, coordinate conjunctions (i.e., and, or, nor), and prepositions, regardless of length. Also, lowercase “to” when used as an infinitive. See examples here.
• Additionally, keep letters lowercase if the lowercase letters have a specific meaning, such as aCGH.
• Do not put a period at the end of the title.
•For example: Cancer Genetics: Translation of New Concepts to Clinical Care

Use of Product Names
• Non-proprietary (generic/scientific) names should be used and should be lowercase.
• If necessary, you may include a proprietary name in parentheses directly following the generic name after its first mention in the body of the abstract; the first letter of the name of a proprietary drug should be capitalized. ACMG reserves the right to replace proprietary names with generic names to adhere to this policy.
Abbreviations • Use standard abbreviations. Place abbreviations in parentheses immediately after the first mention of a term or phrase; the abbreviation can then be used throughout the abstract.

Abstract Body, Tables, and Figures
• Abstracts submitted for the ACMG annual meeting are published online. It is the responsibility of the author to proofread the abstract carefully.
• You are allotted 4,200 characters (excluding spaces) for your abstract. The program will not allow submission if the maximum number is exceeded. 
• The abstract may be structured (i.e.abstracts divided into sections using terms such as Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusions, etc.) or unstructured.
• Do not use bold type or underline formatting. Italic type is acceptable.
• Text may be in multiple paragraphs.
• Special Greek and mathematical symbols are available in a character map within the submission system.
• Use numerals to indicate numbers, except when beginning sentences.
• Simple tables and graphs may be included. The online abstract submission system provides step-by-step instructions on inserting tables and graphs in the preferred HTML format.
• Any references should be noted as citations within the text and not as footnotes at the end.<

Abstract Awards (Geneticist-in-Training and Genetic Counselor)

PerkinElmer Diagnostics Company Travel Award - Suspended for 2021

The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine/ PerkinElmer Diagnostics Company Travel Award is given to a selected student, trainee, or junior faculty ACMG member whose abstract submission is chosen as a platform presentation during the 2021 ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting. In recognition of their selected presentation, PerkinElmer Diagnostics Company covers the travel costs for the recipient to the meeting.

How to be considered for the PerkinElmer Diagnostics Company Travel Award:
• All geneticists-in-training, who are both first author and presenter of the abstract, are automatically considered for an Abstract Award. Therefore, you must first identify as a geneticist–in-training and then select the appropriate training category (undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, or post-doctoral fellow) in the online abstract submission system.
• As a geneticist-in-training, you are required to submit a letter from the senior investigator overseeing your research confirming your status as a geneticist-in-training.
• Your letter must be typed on your institution’s letterhead, signed by the senior investigator, saved in PDF format, and uploaded to the online abstract submission system.
• Please include the following items in your letter:
o Author name (this is the geneticist-in-training who is the presenting/contact author)
o Confirmation of your status as a geneticist-in-training

All geneticist-in-training authors must upload the required letter into the abstract submission system in order to complete the abstract submission. The deadline for receipt of the geneticist-in-training letter is, therefore January 15, 2021. There will be no exceptions.

• Abstract Award recipients will be notified if they will receive an award the week of February 8, 2021. You must attend the meeting and present your abstract to receive your award.

David L. Rimoin Inspiring Excellence Award

The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine will issue the David L. Rimoin Inspiring Excellence Award given to a selected student, trainee, or junior faculty ACMG member whose abstract submission is chosen as a platform presentation during the 2021 ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting. In recognition of their selected presentation, The Rimoin Fund covers the travel costs for the recipient to attend the meeting.

How to be considered for the David L. Rimoin Inspiring Excellence Award:
• All geneticists-in-training, who are both first author and presenter of the abstract, are eligible to be considered for an Abstract Award. Therefore, you must first identify as a geneticist–in-training and then select the appropriate training category (undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, or post-doctoral fellow) in the online abstract submission system.
• As a geneticist-in-training, you are required to submit a letter from the senior investigator overseeing your research confirming your status as a geneticist-in-training. The deadline for receipt of the geneticist-in-training letter is, therefore, January 8, 2021. There will be no exceptions.
• Your letter must be typed on your institution’s letterhead, signed by the senior investigator, saved in PDF format, and uploaded to the online abstract submission system.
• Please include the following items in your letter:
o Author name (this is the geneticist-in-training who is the presenting/contact author)
o Confirmation of your status as a geneticist-in-training
• Abstract Award recipients will be notified if they will receive an award the week of February 8, 2021. You must attend the meeting and present your abstract to receive your award.

Eligible candidates interested in entering the competition will indicate so during the abstract submission process.


Carolyn Mills Lovell Genetic Counselors Award

ACMG supports special recognition and a Carolyn Mills Lovell Genetic Counselors award for a high-scoring abstract submitted by a genetic counselor.

The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine will be giving the Carolyn Mills Lovell Genetic Counselors Award to the first author of the highest rated genetic counselor-authored abstract submission for the scientific program during the 2021 ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting.

How to be considered for the Carolyn Mills Lovell Genetic Counselors Award

Applicants must be certified or board-eligible Genetic Counselors or genetic counseling graduate students enrolled in an accredited genetic counseling training program and do not have to be an ACMG member.

Eligible candidates interested in entering the competition will indicate so during the abstract submission process.

The Carolyn Mills Lovell Genetic Counselors Award will be presented to the recipient at the 2021 ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting. In recognition of their selected presentation, a $1000 cash award will be given to the recipient.
 

Electronic Signature

Completion of all required disclosure information in the online abstract submission system serves as an agreement and is accepted in lieu of a faxed signature. It certifies the ACMG abstract submitter's understanding of the rules for participation contained in the online abstract submission program and affirms that:
• 1. All authors approve of submitting this work for presentation and publication;
• 2. The author(s) transfer(s) all copyright ownership of the named abstract to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (except when one or more authors are U.S. Government employees);
•3. Submitter is acting on behalf of authors and has read the ACMG Conflict-of-Interest Policy and has acted in accordance with that policy;
•4. The author(s) agree(s) to materially confine the presentation to information in the abstract, if accepted for presentation. If an author has more than one abstract accepted, each presentation will be materially confined to the information in the abstract selected for the specific session;
•5. The presenting author will be available to present the abstract if selected for the program. The author(s) will immediately notify ACMG if the first author is not the presenting author.

Contact Information

Send related correspondence and questions regarding abstract submissions or notifications to Education@ACMG.net.

ACMG Annual Meeting Registration

• Please note that submitting an abstract does not register you for the ACMG annual meeting.
• To register, you must complete and return an Attendee Registration Form, or register online through the ACMG Meeting website.