Abstract Submission Information

All participants at the AMP 2020 Annual Meeting & Expo are invited to submit abstracts of original studies related to molecular pathology and diagnostics.

Eligibility

Only AMP Regular Members are eligible to submit abstracts. Associate Members (Trainees) and non-members must have a Regular Member sponsor their abstract. The Regular Member does not need to be an author on the abstract. If you are not a Regular Member of AMP, join now to submit your abstract today. You may submit an abstract and apply to join AMP on the same day, up to and through the submission deadline. However, we encourage you to join AMP in advance of the deadline!

Submission Categories

• Genetics
• Hematopathology
• Infectious Diseases
• Informatics
• Solid Tumors
• Technical Topics
• Other (e.g. Education)*

*Abstract submissions in the "Other (e.g. Education)" topic category may include descriptions of novel educational approaches, innovative programs, pioneering technologies, etc. As with other abstract submissions, these abstract submissions must demonstrate the scientific method, i.e., describe the methodology and data collection, identify how to measure, analyze, and report outcomes, and provide conclusions. All submitted abstracts will be reviewed with the same criteria (see below).

Deadlines

Submission: July 15, 2020 at 11:59 pm (23:59) ET.  NO EXCEPTIONS. The final abstract submission step is not complete until you have clicked the "Submit” button. As you enter information, remember to save your work by clicking the “Save” button, especially before you log out of the system.
 

Once the abstract is submitted, the Corresponding Author will receive a confirmation email. After the deadline, abstracts that are in process and/or saved but not submitted will not be considered for review and/or awards.

Notification: The Corresponding Author will be notified by email no later than early September. Accepted abstracts will be published in the November 2020 issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics (JMD) (see "Eligibility for Publication" section). Abstracts that are not eligible for publication in JMD, i.e., have been submitted to another publication or to another meeting that occurs before November 2020, will be rejected. Abstracts may be withdrawn until 11:59 pm ET on September 21, 2020.

Embargo: The research presented as posters at the AMP Annual Meeting & Expo from the abstracts published in the November issue of JMD is embargoed until the first day of poster presentations at the Annual Meeting.

Poster Presentation: First authors of accepted abstracts are expected to register as attendees and present posters at the Annual Meeting & Expo summarizing their studies. All authors of abstracts must adhere to the AMP Scientific Integrity Policy.

Rules for Abstract Submissions

Note: Abstracts that are not submitted properly will receive an administrative reject and will not be reviewed.

1. Abstracts must be submitted properly. The online system is a database, with data fields (title, author 1, author 2, author 3, etc.) that are used to generate the published abstracts. Therefore, pay careful attention to the submission instructions and to the submission process, including spelling, capitalization, author names, etc.

2. All abstracts must include the required headers listed below, so you will enter text under the appropriate header in the submission system. 
   • Introduction: a brief discussion of the background or rationale of the study and/or the question addressed
   • Methods: the experimental approach, materials, and methods used in the study
   • Results: the data and results obtained in the study

   • Conclusions: the conclusions and/or implications of the results

3. Abstract Limits:
   • Number of authors: 30
   • Abstract Title: 200 characters (including spaces)

   • Abstract Content: 2,800 characters (with spaces and including section headers)

4. You may include formatting (e.g. italicizing genes), Greek letters and special symbols, e.g. °C (degree sign), superscripts, etc. Data must be reported in narrative format in the abstract submission. No tables, figures, or references should be included in the abstract. Abstracts for the AMP Annual Meeting and Expo will be published in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. To ensure that the meeting abstracts are the same format as journal abstracts, authors should save tables, figures, and references for their presentations and/or posters as well as for full manuscript submissions.

5. Only AMP Regular Members are eligible to submit abstracts. Associate Members and non-members must have a Regular Member sponsor their abstract. If you are not a Regular Member of AMP, join now to submit your abstract today. You may submit an abstract and apply to join AMP on the same day, up to and through the submission deadline. However, we encourage you to join AMP in advance of the deadline!

6. Your abstract must be eligible for publication in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics (JMD):

   • The same abstract submitted to the AMP Annual Meeting & Expo must not have been published elsewhere (including the web), submitted to another publication, or submitted to another meeting that occurs prior to the AMP Annual Meeting. You may, however, submit here if there are significant and substantive new data/findings in this submission. 
   • Exception: If you submitted and/or presented an abstract at the 2020 AMP Europe Meeting, this restriction is waived, and the same abstract can be submitted in whole or in part. You are encouraged to include additional data if available.

   • Abstracts that have been submitted to meetings that occur earlier in the year (other than the 2020 AMP Europe Meeting) should be revised, e.g., with additional data, before submitting to the AMP Annual Meeting and Expo.

7. Your abstract will be rated using four criteria:
   •    Originality and Clarity
   •    Novelty
   •    Scientific Merit/Rigor
   •    Appropriate conclusions

   ABSTRACT REVIEW: Abstracts for the AMP Annual Meeting and Expo will undergo blind review, i.e., the reviewers will not be able to see the names or the affiliations of the abstract author(s). Please refrain from including identifiers in the body of your abstract. The Program Committee will be able to see author and affiliation information after review, during the assignment of platform presentations.
    

8. Summary: Grounds for abstract rejection are:
   • Failure to follow directions in 1-6.
   • The abstract is not eligible for publication in JMD.
   • The abstract contains no scientific data and/or has only a promise of future data.
   • Duplicate abstracts are submitted.
   • The sponsor is not an AMP Regular member.
   • The sponsor or any author violated any of the AMP rules for presentation at a previous meeting, e.g., the authors failed to present a poster without notifying AMP prior to the meeting.

• Previously presented/published data
• Poor organization/clarity
• No novel information
• Insufficient scientific quality
• Insufficient data

• The use of all capital letters in the title
• Improper use of italics (i.e., genes should be italicized, not proteins)
• Excessive violations of other guidelines in the AMP Style Guide
• Overt endorsement and/or promotion of a product or service
• Submission of duplicate or highly replicative abstracts under different first author names

Additional Information

Submission Deadline: July 15, 2020 at 11:59 pm ET.  NO EXCEPTIONS. The final abstract submission step is not complete until you have clicked the "Submit" button. The Corresponding Author will receive a confirmation email, but only after the abstract has been successfully finalized and submitted. Abstracts that are in process but not finalized after the deadline will not be considered for acceptance and/or awards.

Abstracts may be withdrawn until 11:59 pm ET on September 21, 2020.

Please visit the links below to read other information about the abstract submission process:

• Poster Information
• Awards Information
• Submission Checklist
• Style Guide
• FAQs

Author Information

1. The Corresponding (Submitting) Author is the individual who submits the abstract and the contact person for all correspondence from AMP. The Corresponding Author does not need to be the senior author nor does s/he need to be the first author. The first author is always the presenting author. The Corresponding Author has the following responsibilities and will:
   • Verify that all authors agree at the time of abstract submission that, if accepted, the abstract will be published in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics (JMD).
   • Verify that all authors agree at the time of abstract submission to transfer all copyright ownership to the Association for Molecular Pathology and the American Society for Investigative Pathology should the abstract be accepted for publication in JMD.
   • Verify that all authors agree to, and any supervisors have given permission for, the presentation of a scientific poster at the annual meeting.
   • Be responsible for notifying all other authors of acceptance, rejection, scheduling and any other information provided by AMP.
   • Be responsible for notifying the Presenting (First) Author of the AMP Rules for Poster Display and any other information provided by AMP. Young Investigator Award applicants are responsible for notifying their faculty mentors of the additional rules for poster display for awards (Awards Information coming soon).
   • Be responsible for compliance with the AMP Scientific Integrity Policy.
2. The First Author will be the Presenting Author. This author can also be the Corresponding (Submitting) Author. The First (Presenting) Author has the following responsibilities, and will:
   • Register for the Annual Meeting & Expo and attend the poster at the assigned time period to discuss the study and answer questions.* Failure to defend one's study by not attending the poster during the assigned time period is a violation of the AMP Scientific Integrity Policy and can result in forfeiture of future abstract submission privileges.
   • Ensure that the abstract poster conforms to the Rules for Poster Display at the Annual Meeting & Expo (i.e., poster display size, format, and schedule).
3. Important considerations:
   • Accepted abstracts that have not been previously published as either an abstract or a paper will be eligible for publication in the November 2020 issue of JMD. Abstracts that have been previously published or that are under consideration as an abstract for another meeting that occurs prior to November 2020 will be rejected unless the submitted abstract has substantive new data. Exception: This restriction is waived if the abstract was submitted and/or presented at the AMP Europe 2020 Congress.
   • The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) and the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) are the co-owners of JMD and own the copyright for all manuscripts and abstracts published in the journal. The Corresponding (Submitting) author must verify at the time of abstract submission that, if the abstract is accepted, all authors agree to (1) publication of the abstract in JMD, and (2) transfer copyright ownership to AMP and ASIP. For US government employees, the above assignment applies only to the extent allowed by law. For more information on publication in JMD, please see this link.
   • A disclosure report of relevant financial relationships is required for the Presenting (First) Author of a submitted abstract. The abstract submission site will require the email addresses of all authors. Once the Corresponding Author has entered all co-authors’ names and information, the Corresponding Author can cue the system to notify the co-authors. Employees of commercial entities should disclose employment via this process. Noting the company name in the Author Information field is not sufficient.

*Please note: If the Presenting Author is unable to attend the Annual Meeting to present the poster, every effort should be made to arrange for one of the other authors to present the poster. Both AMP (AMPEducation@amp.org) and the Annual Meeting Program Chair, Dr. Jane Gibson (Jane.Gibson@ucf.edu) must be notified.