Research Day Submisson Process
- The presenting author downloads the Abstract Submission Template (.doc) and fills in the title, authors, and formatted abstract.
- The presenting author completes the Research Day Submission form.
- If the abstract meets submission requirements, emails are sent to the Principal Investigator/faculty advisor to approve the presentation at Research Day and decide whether the abstract and/or poster can be posted on the DigitalCommons@PCOM.
- More information will be sent closer to Research Day on each campus.
Abstract Submission Guidelines
Submission guidelines have changed from previous years. Please read!
- Download the abstract submission Word document and paste your formatted abstract along with title and authors. Authors must include you and your PI.
- Submit your abstract through the submission form to present a poster for this year's Research Day. You will receive a confirmation email upon submission and more details closer to the event.
- Your faculty advisor or PI will be prompted to consent to the poster presentation and for permission to post on the DigitalCommons@PCOM. Student submissions without a faculty, resident, or staff PI (in or outside of PCOM) will be rejected.
- You may submit and present a maximum of two posters as first author. Co-authorship of additional abstracts is permitted.
- Posters presented elsewhere are eligible as long as they were presented within the past year.
- Structure your abstract to include Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion sections with bold headings. See the PubMed guide to structured abstracts for examples.
- Abstracts must be 500 words or under or will be rejected.
Submission Frequently Asked Questions
Who can submit an abstract for Research Day?
All students, post-docs, medical residents, faculty, and staff at PCOM are encouraged to submit abstracts.
How do I submit an abstract?
After reading the submission requirements, fill out the abstract submission form.
My poster isn't done yet. Can I still submit?
Yes. Your final abstract is required for submission, but your final poster is not needed until Research Day.
Why was my abstract rejected? Can I resubmit?
Abstracts that do not meet submission requirements, including abstracts over 500 words or submissions that don't properly credit all authors, will be rejected. Abstracts can be resubmitted during the abstract submission period; please submit abstracts early to allow time to fix mistakes. PIs/faculty advisors can also reject a poster; please contact your PI directly for the reason before submitting.
What does submitting my poster to the DigitalCommons@PCOM entail? What if I don't want research from my lab in the DigitalCommons@PCOM​?
Your abstract and/or poster will be available in the Research Day collection for anyone to read, providing a permanent URL with proof of your academic accomplishments. You will retain copyright of your poster, and other researchers will be able to find and cite your research; posters can also be put under embargo for a set period of time, allowing researchers to pursue publication before making the poster open access. Abstracts and posters will only be posted on DigitalCommons@PCOM with the approval of both the presenting author and the PI/faculty advisor.
Am I eligible for an award?
All PCOM students and residents are eligible for awards. Other participants may be eligible for special awards.
Do I need permission from my faculty advisor to submit an abstract?
Yes. If you have conducted independent research, you will need a faculty sponsor before you submit your abstract. Research conducted outside of PCOM will need permission from that PI or attending clinician. Your PI will be emailed as part of the submission process.
Can I submit a poster I've presented somewhere else?
Yes, as long as it was first presented in the past year.
I missed the submission deadline. Can I still submit?
Generally, no, but this is up to the discretion of the Research Day Committee. With the growing number of submissions to Research Day, organizers are on a very tight schedule to prepare for the in-person event. If you know you won't be available at the deadline, please submit earlier or contact the Research Day Committee early to work out a solution.
Poster Printing FAQs
PCOM Printing Solutions will print posters for FREE. The submission deadline for printing posters will be April 15 for Philadelphia, April 22 for Georgia, and April 24 for South Georgia. Instructions for submitting posters will be emailed to presenters when submissions are closed.
Principal Investigator FAQs
I received an email about being the principal investigator/faculty sponsor of a poster at PCOM's Research Day. What is this about?
Research Day is a yearly event for PCOM students, residents, faculty, and staff to present posters on their current and future research. The event encourages research as well as providing experience in designing and presenting posters to judges and interested parties. Presenting a poster requires the consent of the PI or faculty advisor of that research, including those not affiliated with PCOM.
Who can attend Research Day? Will the poster be available to the public?
Attendees of Research Day will include PCOM students, residents, faculty, and staff, along with invited guests. Posters will be displayed for one day on each campus. with photographs not allowed. An abstract booklet containing all abstracts will be available only on the PCOM intranet.
How do I review the submission to give my approval?
The email will include information about the poster, including the poster title, the authors, and the name of the presenter. Most importantly, there is an "Open request" button towards the end of the email. Clicking on that will lead you to a webpage where you can view the abstract and give your approval.
Once you are on that webpage, find the "1 Attachment" button and click on it to reveal the abstract. Click on the filename to download and view the submitted abstract.
When you have made a decision about the poster being presented, open the "Allow poster to be presented" select menu and select your decision.
Fill out the rest of the form and then click "Submit Update" when you are finished.
I am also being asked about uploading the poster to DigitalCommons@PCOM. What does that mean?
DigitalCommons@PCOM is a permanent open access repository of research and publications from PCOM students, residents, faculty, and staff that is freely available to the public. PIs can choose from several options for display on the DigitalCommons, including uploading the full poster and abstract, uploading the full poster after an embargo period, only displaying the abstract, or uploading nothing.
If I do not want the poster uploaded to DigitalCommons@PCOM, will that prevent the poster from being presented?
No. Poster acceptance and awards are completely separate from DigitalCommons permission.