American Association for Cancer Research
96th Annual Meeting
April 16-20, 2005
Anaheim Convention Center
Anaheim, CA
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Instructions For Presenters In Minisymposia
All Minisymposia presentations at the Annual Meeting will be in PowerPoint format. Please contact Jeffrey Rubenat the AACR office (215-440-9300 or e-mail: ruben@aacr.org) if you have concerns about this type of presentation. Please arrange to arrive in Anaheim and report to the Speaker Preview Room (Room 205 B in the Convention Center) the day before your presentation is scheduled. Please see the Audio/Visual Instructions pdf link above for the PowerPoint presentation instructions.
Session Formats. The format of minisymposia is as follows: All speakers have been allotted 10 minutes to present their talks and 5 minutes to answer questions. The Program Committee has appointed 2 chairpersons to each session. In the majority of sessions, one chairperson will introduce the topic to be covered during the first 10 minutes of the session, and the other will lead a 20-minute discussion of the research presented and its implications after all of the individual presentations have been delivered. In a few sessions, invited speakers have been asked to make presentations of varying lengths on a topic relevant to the entire session. For information specific to your session, consult the appropriate page of the printed final Program.
Cooperation with Session Chairpersons. Minisymposia have been held successfully at previous meetings of the Association. The format provides participants with an overview of developments in timely, significant areas of cancer research. The objectives of these sessions can only be met, however, with the cooperation of all presenters. A list giving the names and addresses of chairpersons selected for minisymposia will be available on February 21, 2005. It is essential that you send a summary of your talk to each of the two chairpersons for your session no later than March 18, 2005. This material should include a copy of your PowerPoint presentation, a description of the methods, a summary of your findings, and your conclusions. In addition, please submit 2 or 3 questions about the general topic of your session. This will assist the chairpersons to stimulate discussion.
Withdrawal of Presentations. As a courtesy to your colleagues, if you are scheduled to present a paper and later find that you cannot attend the meeting, please inform the AACR office in writing. You may submit your withdrawal via Fax at (215) 599-0111. Withdrawals via e-mail will not be accepted.
Registration and Hotel Accommodations. Presenters at the AACR meeting must register for the full meeting at the rate appropriate to their membership status and obtain their own hotel accommodations. Forms for these purposes appear in the Preliminary Program book and in AACR journals. They are also available from the Association Office and from the Association's 2005 Annual Meeting Webpage.
Instructions For Presenters In Poster Sessions
Poster sessions will extend for 4 hours, and your materials must remain posted on the poster board assigned to you for this entire period. If you are presenting your paper in a regular poster session, you are required to be present at your poster for only the first three hours. During the fourth hour you may feel free to examine the other posters in your area or to attend other sessions. However, you must return at the end of the session to take down your poster.
General Guidelines
Abstracts scheduled for presentation in poster sessions have been grouped according to topic to allow for maximum interaction among scientists working in a particular discipline. The printed Program for the Annual Meeting will specify the time and place of the presentation, poster board assignment, abstract number, title, and author(s) for each abstract scheduled for a poster session. Within each of the 33 sections of posters in the exhibit hall, poster boards are numbered consecutively from 1 to 30. Association staff will place each board's number in its upper left hand corner; however, you are responsible for displaying your permanent abstract number along with your other poster materials. On the Program page devoted to each poster session, poster board numbers are indicated in regular type; abstract numbers are printed in boldface. Attendants in the Exhibit Hall of the Anaheim Convention Center will assist presenters assigned to regular poster sessions to locate their poster boards.
Due to security regulations, presenters will not be admitted to the poster area until 30 minutes before the scheduled start of the morning poster session of each day of the meeting. All presenters should be in the poster area at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time to set up materials on the poster board provided. If your paper is a collaborative effort, it is helpful if more than one author is present during the poster presentation. At the designated closing time of the poster session, your materials must be removed promptly so that your colleagues in the following session will have sufficient time to set up their materials.
Presentation of Posters
Photocopies of the abstract, an outline of the experimental design, and relevant tables and illustrations should be available during your poster presentation for distribution to interested persons.
It is important that the presenter of the poster make every effort to communicate with all interested visitors. Be prepared to repeat your key findings as many times as necessary, and to present the data in a different order and/or degree of completeness to each listener. The optimal approach is to minimize the number of details presented on the poster itself and to communicate specific data orally during discussions with visitors.
As with any presentation, clarity of expression is essential. Technical jargon, highly specialized vocabulary, and unfamiliar abbreviations should be avoided. Direct eye contact with your audience will also assist your listeners.
Preparation of Tables and Illustrations
- Professionally drawn tables and illustrations will greatly increase the effectiveness of poster presentations. Lettering that has been enlarged through photoreproduction or computer typesetting is the best medium for text in posters. Typewritten material is difficult to read and should not be used.
- Tables and illustrations should be kept relatively simple to maximize legibility. They should be numbered and arranged in the sequence in which they will be viewed.
- Lines in illustrations should be heavy. Symbols, letters, and numbers should be large enough to be seen from a distance of 6 feet.
- A backing of colored paper for each item in the poster is an inexpensive and useful way of enhancing the legibility of the data. Contrast between lettering and background is very important.
- Material to be displayed should be placed on regular weight paper or lightweight cardboard for easy attachment to the poster board.
Poster Boards (Sample Poster Layout) [Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view file]
The poster board assigned to each presenter has a usable area of 7-3/4 feet in width and 3-3/4 feet in height (approx. 2.3 meters X 1.1 meters). In planning the utilization of space on your poster board, you are advised to use the space at eye level. The top section of the poster board will be at eye level for the great majority of viewers and is therefore the best location for text. Properly drawn charts and diagrams will still be easy to read in the middle of the poster board. Do not use the space at the very bottom of the poster board. Each presentation should contain a top panel, listing the abstract number, the title of the abstract, and the names of the authors. Illustrative material should be arranged in logical order.
Additional Materials
Presenters should bring a marking pen and paper to facilitate discussion of important points.
Important Notes
As a courtesy to your colleagues, if you are scheduled to present a poster and later find that you cannot attend the meeting, please inform the AACR Office in writing. You may submit your withdrawal via Fax at (215) 599-0111. Withdrawals via e-mail will not be accepted.
Presenters at the AACR meeting must register for the full meeting at the rate appropriate to their membership status and obtain their own hotel accommodations. Forms for these purposes appeared at the back of the Program Preview of the meeting and in AACR journals. They are also available from the Association Office and from the Association's 2005 Annual Meeting Webpage.