Abstract Guidelines

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Important Dates

1 November 2009  
Online abstract submission opens  

10 February 2010 
24:00 Central European Time 
Abstract submission closes. Abstracts will not be accepted after this date
(except for late breakers)

20 April 2010 
Late breakers abstracts submission opens  

20 May 2010 
24:00 Central European Time
Late breakers abstracts submission closes 

Late Breaker Abstracts – Deadline 20 May 2010

A small number of late breaker abstracts will be accepted, with roughly one half to be presented orally and one half presented as posters. The percentage of abstracts selected for late breakers will depend on the number of submissions, but selection will certainly be more rigorous than for regular abstracts. Therefore, if at all possible, abstracts should be submitted by the regular deadline and the late breaker format should be reserved for data that is indeed not available before 10 February 2010. The same submission rules apply for the late breaker abstracts as for the regular abstracts, but each presenting author may only present ONE late breaker abstract at the conference, in addition to any previously accepted abstracts. The late breaker abstract submission will be open from 20 April to 20 May 2010. 

Call for Abstracts

The XVIII International AIDS Conference welcomes the submission of abstracts for original contribution to the field. Please read the following guidelines carefully before submitting your abstract:

• All abstracts must be written in English. Texts written in other alphabets cannot be saved by the submission system.
• If English is not your first language we recommend that you have your abstract reviewed by a native speaker before submission.
• The conference offers an online mentoring service for less experienced submitters – see further information below.
• Abstracts can only be submitted online via the conference website aids2010.org; those submitted by fax, post or e-mail will not be considered.
• The abstract text should not exceed 300 words.
• The abstract title should not exceed 100 words.
• The number of authors per abstract is unlimited.
• Use a standard font like Arial when formatting your text. This will help prevent special characters from getting lost when copying your text to online abstract submission form. Please however always make sure to check the final abstract with the system’s preview function before submission, and edit or replace as necessary.
• Tables and graphs may be included. A graph (image in JPG, GIF or PNG) counts as 50 words. A table counts as 10 words per row.
• It is the author’s responsibility to submit a correct abstract. Any errors in spelling, grammar or scientific fact will be reproduced as typed by the author.
• Abstracts must not have been published or submitted for presentation to any other national or international meeting, for further information please see below under IAS Abstract Transparency Policy.
• If you have any questions regarding your abstract submission, please contact the abstract support team at

The Conference offers two options for abstract submission:

OPTION 1

The first option is most suited for scientific research. Abstracts presented under the first option should contain concise statements of:  

Background: indicate the purpose and objective of the research, the hypothesis that was tested or a description of the problem being analyzed or evaluated.

Methods: describe the setting/location for the study, study design, study population, data collection and methods of analysis used.

Results: present as clearly and detailed as possible the findings/outcome of the study, with specific results in summarized form. Inclusion of gender breakdown of data is strongly encouraged.

Conclusions: briefly discuss the data and main outcome of the study. Emphasize the significance for HIV prevention, treatment, care and/or support, and future implications of the results.

OPTION 2

The second option is most suited for presenting new knowledge or analyses that are important for understanding and responding to the HIV epidemic and its future implications. It is suited for information that was gained through systematic forms of knowledge production/management, by means other than scientific research or evaluation. This process must include some evidence provided through some data obtained.

Abstracts presented under the second option should contain concise statements of:

Issues: a summary of the issue(s) addressed by the abstract.

Description: a description of the intervention, project, experience, service and/or advocacy.

Lessons learned: conclusions and implications of the intervention or project. Data that support the lessons learned and provide evidence must be included.

Next steps: possible next steps for implementation, or recommendations.

We encourage work that introduces new ideas and conceptualizations, research and understandings to the field, as well as analysis of both success and failure.

Abstracts should disclose primary findings and avoid, whenever possible, promissory statements such as "experiments are in progress" or "results will be discussed".

Your abstract, if accepted, will appear in its full form in the abstract book, and/or on the abstract CD-ROM and on the conference and IAS websites. The CD-ROM will be distributed to all registered delegates at the conference.  

IAS Abstract Transparency Policy

An abstract can be submitted and may be accepted although it has been previously published or presented at a national, regional or international meeting, provided that there are new methods, new findings, updated information or other valid reasons for submitting that can be provided by the author.

If preliminary or partial data has been published or presented, the author is required to indicate the details of that conference, meeting or journal and the reasons for submitting the abstract to this conference. This information will be considered by the Scientific Programme Committee when making final decisions. 

Co-Submission

The AIDS 2010 will negotiate co-submission of abstracts to certain affiliated events. Visit aids2010.org for updated information. Track A (basic science) abstracts submitted to the International AIDS Conference and related to the topic of viral reservoirs and strategies to control them will also be considered for the IAS pre-conference workshop on HIV reservoirs that will be held in Vienna immediately prior to AIDS 2010. 

Ethical Research Declaration

The conference supports only research that has been conducted according to the protocol approved by the institutional or local committee on ethics in human investigation. Where no such committee exists, the research should have been conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki of World Medical Association. Click here to read the Declaration. The AIDS 2010 Scientific Programme Committee may enquire further into ethical aspects when evaluating the abstracts. 

Gender Analysis in Abstracts

Inclusion of gender breakdown of data is strongly encouraged, and should be provided as well as a comprehensive gender analysis in the results section whenever possible. If applicable, your abstract should include the number and percentage of men, women and transgender who participated in your research or project, and disaggregation of results by gender. If your research or project was specific to one gender, please state. 

Choosing Abstract Track Categories

The abstract track category is the general heading under which your abstract will be reviewed and later published in the conference printed matters if accepted. Please choose the category which best describes the subject of your abstract. Click here to view the complete list of categories. 

Keywords

In addition to the abstract category, please also indicate 3-5 keywords (free text, maximum 25 characters per keyword) that represent the content of your abstract. If relevant please specify subject/population, setting/location and objective/outcome. 

Abstract Mentor Programme

The goal of the AIDS 2010 Abstract Mentor Programme is to provide an opportunity for young and/or less experienced abstract submitters to have their draft abstracts reviewed by more experienced abstract submitters. This programme is open from 1 November 2009 to 27 January 2010. For more information please visit aids2010.org. 

IAS Conference Profile

Before you can submit an abstract, you need to create a Conference profile from which you can enter the abstract system. You can submit one or several abstracts from your Conference profile. After an abstract has been created, modifications can be made until the abstract submission deadline of 10 February 2010. No modifications can be made once the abstract has been submitted. 

Abstract Blinding and Review

All submitted abstracts will go through a blind peer-review process carried out by an international reviewing committee. Each abstract will be reviewed by at least three reviewers. 

Notification of Acceptance or Rejection to Corresponding Author

Notification of acceptance or rejection will be sent to the submitting (corresponding) author by early April. Please note that only the corresponding author will receive mail concerning the abstract and is responsible for informing all co-authors of the status of the abstract. Authors whose abstracts have been accepted will receive instructions for the presentation of their abstract. The decision of the Scientific Programme Committee is final and appeals will not be considered. 

Rule of Two

Each presenting author may present a maximum of two abstracts at the conference. The number of submissions is however not limited. Should an author have more than two abstracts accepted, a co-author must be named presenting author for one or more abstracts. 

IAS Media Embargo Policy

The content of an abstract is under embargo from the time of submission until notification of acceptance or rejection. If rejected, the abstract can be submitted again elsewhere. If accepted, the abstract continues to be under media embargo until the date and time of presentation at the conference. The author does have the right to submit it to another meeting or journal as long as it is not presented or published before the conference. 

Scholarship application process

The process of requesting a scholarship must be completed through your conference profile. Once you submit your abstract, you will be able to finish the application. For more information on scholarships click here.

 

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