Rules and Regulations

2020 Rules and Regulations

Please note that due to the changing nature and spread of COVID-19, LHRD 2020 has been cancelled.

LHRD will return in 2021.

The submission deadline has been extended to Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Please note that the LHRD Rules and Regulations have been substantially updated for the 2020 event. Ensure you read through the Rules and Regulations carefully before submitting your abstract.

General Information & Participation Requirements
Abstract Submission Details
Abstract Submission Format
Abstract Scoring Criteria
Abstract Research Categories
Feature Platform Presentation - Guidelines
Poster Presentation - Guidelines
The Lucille & Norton Wolf LHRD Trainee Publication Awards
Contact Information
Submit Your Abstract

General Information & Participant Requirements

London Health Research Day (LHRD) 2020 will be held on Tuesday, May 5, 2020.

Abstract submissions for London Health Research Day are open to:

Lawson Health Research Institute trainees in the following capacities: graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, residents and clinical fellows.*
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry students and trainees in the following capacities: graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, residents and clinical fellows.*
Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) trainees in the following capacities: graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Please note that this year FHS trainees will be included with Lawson and Schulich trainees for selection and judging of posters and oral presentations.
Research assistants and associates at Lawson and Schulich Medicine & Dentistry**
NOTE: Research assistants and associates are eligible to display a research poster for presentation purposes only. Please indicate your role as a research assistant or associate when submitting your abstract.

*Clinical fellows are eligible to submit research that is hypothesis-driven only. Chart reviews are not eligible for submission.
**Undergraduate students are not considered research assistants or associates, and cannot display a poster.

Abstract Submission Details

The deadline for abstract submissions has been extended to Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Only one submission per person is permitted. The submitted abstracts must represent the trainee’s research.

Research must be conducted predominantly at Lawson, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry or Faculty of Health Sciences.
Trainees/scholars may be the first author on only one abstract.
Presentations must reflect the submitted abstract.
The abstract format outlined below must be followed.

The event location can accommodate up to 400 poster presentations for the day. In the rare event that more than 400 poster abstracts are submitted, the abstracts will be subject to a post-submission review by the LHRD Academic Committee (or their delegates) to reduce the total number of poster presentations to a maximum of 400. The Academic Committee therefore reserves the right to approach individuals regarding the inclusion of their abstract in the overall program for the day. The LHRD Academic Committee, which consists of members from Lawson, Schulich and Faculty of Health Sciences (students, post-doctoral fellows, research associates and faculty members), and the new LHRD Judging Committee (graduate students) will help facilitate adjudication for all abstracts submitted.

Trainees must indicate whether they are interested in participating in the oral presentations (feature platform presentations) or poster presentations. If a trainee is interested in delivering a poster presentation, they must also indicate whether they wish to be judged or not. This is to be indicated under the heading “Please select which type of presentation you’re interested in delivering.” Please see Abstract Scoring Criteria for details on the abstract ranking process.

Abstract Submission Format

New this year, you are required to submit both a scientific abstract and a lay abstract. In addition, the submission must include a clear statement of the role that the submitting author had in the generation of the data that will be presented. The online system contains mandatory fields such as: trainee’s/scholar’s full name, work email, organizational affiliations, academic program, area of research, abstract title, author names, and name(s) of supervisor(s). Trainees/scholars must only present work they completed themselves.

Scientific Abstract

The maximum length for your scientific abstract is 3500 characters. Do not include your name, title, supervisor, role and authors in this field. Please also note that the 3500 character limit includes spaces and the mandatory headings. This is the abstract that will be used by each program/department to select platform and judged poster presentations. Submissions must be text-based only. Images will not be accepted.

All abstracts are to be submitted online and include the mandatory five main headings. You must include the following sections in order to qualify for submission:

Introduction
Hypothesis
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion and Conclusions

Lay Abstract

Your lay abstract will be catered towards a general scientific audience and should avoid the use of jargon and abbreviations. This is the abstract that will be published on the LHRD mobile app for participants. The maximum length of your lay abstract is 1000 characters. Your lay abstract must be formatted as one single paragraph without headings.

Abstract Scoring Criteria

The LHRD Academic Committee will request that each department adjudicate their own abstracts. The top 40 abstracts from all those submitted will be selected for oral presentations. A maximum of 150 additional abstracts will be selected for evaluated poster presentations (quantity dependant on number of registered judges for event day). Abstracts will be scored based on the following criteria, for a total of 50 potential points:

Title (out of 1)
Introduction clearly states background and rationale/motivation for the study (out of 10)
Hypothesis and objectives are clearly stated (out of 4)
Methods, study design and statistical analysis are clearly stated (out of 10)
Results are presented in a systematic, logical way (out of 5)
Discussion and conclusions logically follow the findings, and are well flushed out (out of 10)
Overall impression of the abstract and work (out of 10)

Only original trainee work will be considered for judging.

Abstract Research Categories

The following categories will be used when assigning rooms for platform sessions and placement of posters during the poster sessions. The LHRD organizers reserve the right to adjust categories if required, depending on the entries received. Please select the category that best fits your research.

Fundamental mechanisms and basic sciences - Research studying fundamental biological mechanisms, such as those needed to understand the healthy human state.
Mechanisms and prevention of disease; promotion of well-being - Research studying the underlying mechanisms of a disease, including how it is caused, mitigated or prevented.
Determinants of health, early life programming and development - Research to understand early life programming and development, as well as which key factors influence the health status of a person, whether these are experienced in adulthood or in childhood.
Advances in medical treatment - Research involving structural, physiological or therapeutic treatments and interventions. These include but are not limited to drugs, surgical procedures and other advances towards health care.
Detection, screening and diagnosis of disease - Research that describes a novel application of an existing system or development of an emerging technology towards medical application.
Public health, health services and health policy - Research involving the dissemination/introduction of health policy or investigations affecting either select populations or the broader public.

Feature Platform Presentation - Guidelines

For those selected to give an oral presentation, guidelines are as follows:

The presentation must be on your own research and must be conducted predominantly at Lawson Health Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry or Faculty of Health Sciences.
Please ensure you give credit where credit is due by identifying which parts of the project were previously completed by other individuals.
The presentation must reflect the submitted abstract.
The introduction, hypothesis, materials and methods, results, discussion and conclusions should be emphasized.
We strongly recommend you tailor your presentation so that it is delivered in a language that is easily understood by a general scientific audience, not just for those within your area of expertise.
Presentations are allotted 10 minutes for delivery and 3-5 minutes for a question and answer period. A timer will be present in the room to ensure your presentation stays on time.

Presenters will be randomly divided into eight groups and will compete against the other presenters in their room. Presentations will be evaluated by a panel of three judges based on the following criteria, for a total of 100 potential points:

Mechanics (out of 25) – volume, pace, articulation, slide quality, appropriateness, ability to use audio-visual equipment, effectively organized slides
Content (out of 50)
- Did the presentation include an introduction, hypothesis, purpose and a conclusion?
- Did the conclusion address the hypothesis?
- Was the overall concept and importance of the research understandable by a general scientific audience?
- Was the work presented completed primarily by the trainee him/herself? Did he/she specify which part(s) of the project were completed prior to his/her contribution?
- Was the presentation clear?
- What was the overall impression given by the presentation?
- Was there a clear direction towards future research?
- Was all content explained?
Questions (out of 25) – Was the trainee/scholar able to answer and interpret questions carefully, effectively and concisely?

First place prizes in the amount of $400 and second place prizes in the amount of $200 will be awarded to the top-scoring presentations in each room for each session (sixteen awards in total).

View a sample evaluation form for Feature Platform Presentations.

Poster Presentation - Guidelines

General Guidelines

Posters (with the title banner included) must not exceed 4 feet wide by 4 feet high. The poster display board will be 4’ high by 8’ wide, with two posters on each side of each display board. A maximum size of 42” high by 42” wide is recommended.
Posters should be targeted to a general scientific audience, including both basic and clinical researchers, as well as a layperson (general non-scientific) audience.
Poster presenters are expected to prepare a two minute elevator pitch to provide an overview of their research. You must be able to tailor your presentation for both general scientific/academic and layperson (general non-scientific) audiences.*
Posters should be appealing and interesting. Poster presenters are encouraged to plan well and to practice their delivery.

*Please note that guests and other participants will be encouraged to provide you with feedback on your poster and presentation.

Judging Guidelines

At LHRD, upon registration, students will be informed if they have been selected for evaluation. Up to three judges will evaluate each poster selected for evaluation (up to 150 posters will be evaluated). Students are expected to prepare a two-minute pitch to provide an overview of their research. You must be able to tailor your presentation for both scientific and lay audiences. Judges will determine whether the presentation is worthy of an award and, if so, they will provide a detailed breakdown and final score to the LHRD organizers. Scores may be normalized to a standardized presentation.

Posters will be evaluated on the following criteria (score out of 15 per category below) for a total of 45 potential points:

Poster Appearance and Content – Was the poster well-organized with clear and appropriately used fonts and graphics? Was there sufficient and appropriate information included on the poster?
Scientific Presentation – Did the student provide a two minute overview of their research targeted towards a general scientific audience and include appropriate and understandable content?
Communication & Questions – Was the pitch concise? Did the trainee/scholar interpret and answer the questions carefully and effectively?

Prizes in the amount of $200 will be awarded to the top-scoring poster presentations (up to 12 prizes may be awarded).

View a sample evaluation form for Poster Presentations.

The Lucille & Norton Wolf London Health Research Day Trainee Publication Awards

Thanks to the personal generosity of Lucille and Norton Wolf, we are pleased to issue a call for The Lucille & Norton Wolf London Health Research Day Trainee Publication Awards. These awards will be announced at London Health Research Day on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 at RBC Place London.

The Lucille & Norton Wolf London Health Research Day Trainee Publication Awards have been created to recognize the outstanding research discoveries of trainees, postdoctoral scholars, medical residents and clinical fellows working in labs across Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, including Robarts Research Institute, and Lawson Health Research Institute.*

*Please note that undergraduate students and Faculty of Health Sciences trainees are not eligible to participate.

Up to four awards in the amount of $1,000 will be provided to the top-scoring trainee peer-reviewed publications that have appeared in press from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019. All trainees and students as described above are eligible to apply. To do so:

The trainee must be participating at London Health Research Day 2020 through a poster or feature platform presentation.
The trainee must be first author on the publication and have contributed significantly to both the research and the writing of the manuscript.
To apply: a full copy of the published manuscript must be submitted along with a maximum 300 word description prepared by the first author trainee describing why the publication is of significant merit; their contributions to the study and the publication; and a description of why the publication is worthy of consideration for one of these awards.
Submitted publications and the descriptions of their impact will be adjudicated by the London Health Research Day Academic Committee.
All submissions must be sent to sheila.fleming@lawsonresearch.com and received no later than 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 25, 2020.

Contact Information

For questions, please contact Janelle Pritchard at jpritch7@uwo.ca or 519.661.2111 ext. 80389 or Sheila Fleming at sheila.fleming@lawsonresearch.com or 519.646.6100 ext. 64672.

Submit Your Abstract

The call for abstracts is now closed. Trainees will be notified of presentation assignments by early April.

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