Submissions will open in July 2018. 

Poster Guidelines:

• Poster abstracts should be structured as: Background, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Include as much actual data as possible.
• There is a limit of 3200 characters, not counting spaces, for the text of your abstract submission.  No images will be accepted.
• The presenter will be required to submit a COI disclosure statement at the time of the submission.
• Posters will be secured to poster panels with push pins.

Oral Guidelines:

• Oral Presentation abstracts should be structured as: Background, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Include as much actual data as possible.
• Oral Presentations will last 10 minutes with an additional 5 minutes for discussion.
• There is a limit of 3200 characters, not counting spaces, for the text of your abstract submission.  No images will be accepted.
• The presenter will be required to submit a COI disclosure statement at the time of submission.
• Submitters will be given the opportunity in the submission process to elect that if the oral presentation is not accepted, then the abstract may be considered for poster presentation.

Symposium Guidelines:

• A symposium is a moderately formal 2 hour session that includes 4 presenters and 1 discussant.
• Symposium proposals must include both the overall panel proposal, as well as the individual presenter abstracts. The panel chair is responsible for submitting the overall summary and each presenter is responsible for submitting their own individual abstract. Symposia chairs will have the opportunity to review the individual abstracts and finalize the submission.
• Each of the 4 presentations lasts 30 minutes which allows for a 20-minute presentation and 10-minute discussion period.
• An individual may submit as many symposia as they would like, but can only participate in a symposium or oral presentation a total of two times in any role (this includes chair, discussant and presenter).  If a session is selected where a speaker is included more than twice, the speaker will need to find a suitable replacement which can be approved by the program chairs.
• One discussant per symposium is required. The discussant cannot also be a presenter. This individual will lead the discussion with panelists and attendees the last thirty minutes of the symposium. NO formal presentation, slides, or other audio visuals are allowed for discussants; this rule will be strictly enforced.
• Symposium sessions will be scheduled with the assumption that all speakers agree to be available on all days of the meeting.
• Symposium participants should be from various institutions (preferably from different countries) so the meeting attendees get the benefit of cross-institutional collaboration. Proposals that have participants from only one institution should include a justification as to why this is necessary for the proposal. The Chair may be asked to replace a speaker if the abstract submission includes two speakers from the same institution.
• There is a limit of 16,200 characters for the text of your abstract submission. This includes title (200 characters), the overall abstract (3,200 characters) and each speakers’ abstract (3,200 characters each), not counting spaces. No images will be accepted.
• At the time of submission, all presenters, including the chair must submit his/her disclosures. Submissions will not be reviewed without a completed disclosure.
• Audiovisual equipment available for every symposium: laptop, LCD projector, laser pointer, podium, and microphone.
• Participant Diversity: Good science requires a plurality of voices, viewpoints and ideas. It also requires that there are opportunities for the promotion of talented early career researchers from diverse geographic regions. However, in many areas of academic discourse it is now recognized that there is a bias that favours males of majority ethnicity and established career scientists. This potentially results in the narrowing of viewpoints that are expressed, and a lack of opportunities for emerging talent to be recognized. In reviewing data from our previous SIRS meeting, we have discovered that in relation to symposia 62% of symposia chairs were male, 64% of symposia speakers were male and 83% of symposia discussants were male. These ratios do not reflect the ratio of males to females in the majority of disciplines that participate in the SIRS meeting. Data about the career stage and minority status of symposia participants was not available. In order to address this, the SIRS Program Committee will, in addition to evaluation of scientific excellence, take into account the composition of the panels, specifically the degree to which they include women, under-represented minorities and early career scientists and clinicians.  Each accepted symposium will receive $4000 USD for the Chair to disperse to the presenters based on geographic location to aid in meeting travel expenses. Additional funding may be requested.