Student/New Grad Poster Session
The IOA invites you to participate in the Student Poster Session at the Illinois Optometric Association Annual Meeting to be held August 27-29, 2026 in Springfield, IL at the BOS Center, 1 Convention Center Plaza. The Poster Session creates an opportunity for students and clinicians to display and share interesting cases and research with fellow optometrists. Abstracts will be reviewed by members of the IOA Education Committee Review Board and submissions meeting required criteria will be presented at the 2026 IOA Annual Meeting on Saturday morning, August 29, from 11am-1pm in the Exhibit Hall. All abstracts must be complete and unpublished at time of submission. Abstracts will be considered within the submission period from May 26, 2026 to July 10, 2026 (11:59 CDT).
Selection Criteria & Requirements:
Authors will be notified by July 15, 2026 if their poster has been accepted.
Criteria for Posters:
A) Primary authors must be student members of the IOA or AOA.
B) Complete abstracts must be submitted via email to jmcmahon@ico.edu by June 30, 2026 (11:59 CDT). Expect a confirmation receipt.
C) A primary author may only submit 2 posters total (if more than 2 posters submitted; only the first 2 will be evaluated).
D) Authors may not submit previously published material.
E) Posters must be mounted on their boards and put up in the Exhibit Hall any time Thursday, or at latest by 11:00 am on Friday, August 28, 2026. Authors are expected to be in attendance to present their posters from 11:00 am-1:00 pm on Saturday, August 29, 2026. All posters should be removed immediately afterward.
F) No financial incentives will be given to Poster presenters. Presenters are responsible for all costs associated with attending any part of the IOA Annual Meeting.
G) The abstract must follow format as shown below:
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CASE REPORT ABSTRACT TITLE: Title should be short and indicative of the nature of the case report. SUMMARY: Summarize the following key elements of the case report. The abstract cannot exceed 250 words. Submissions over 250 words in length will not be eligible for selection Background: Case Summary: Conclusion: SCIENTIFIC POSTER ABSTRACT TITLE: Title should be short and indicative of the nature of the scientific report. SUMMARY: Summarize the following key elements of the scientific report. The abstract cannot exceed 250 words. Submissions over 250 words in length will not be eligible for selection. Background: Method: Results: Conclusion: |
1. Abstract must be no more than 250 words (does not include title and authors); if abstract is over 250 words, it will be disqualified.
2. Abstract information must be of appropriate interest to fellow optometrists.
3. Abstract must be clear and concise in wording.
H) Case report abstracts must also meet the following requirements:
· Case report must be unique and not be a review of information already in literature.
· Case report must demonstrate comprehensive follow-up patient care.
· Explain the clinical significance of the case report.
I) Scientific abstracts must also meet the following requirements:
· Abstract must be original and previously unpublished.
· Abstract must define a scientific study of the idea/product.
· Abstract must show a clear, sound hypothesis.
· Abstract conclusions must be validated with results.
· Abstract must include evidence of new outcome and it’s significance.
· Abstract must include more than preliminary results.
*Ethical & Regulatory Requirements for Case Reports: Research involving human subjects must have been performed by adhering to applicable national and local human subject research requirements. As to be consistent with NIH, if the number of human subjects in a study is greater than three, Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval must have been obtained. Authors must not assume that studies are exempt from IRB approval. An IRB is the only facet that can determine if a study fulfills exempt status. Any research that involves animals must be performed in accord with international standards for animal treatment and care as well as any applicable regulatory requirements. If animals are involved, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval must be obtained. Failure to conform to the above ethical standards may result in loss of privileges for all listed authors to submit abstracts or proposals to subsequent IOA annual meeting programs.
Publication of Abstracts: Posters will be peer-reviewed. Those that meet criteria will be selected for presentation at the IOA Annual Meeting. Accepted posters or related images may also be published at a later date in the IOA Journal/newsletter.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Janice McMahon
312-949-7323
