Call for Abstracts

An abstract is a brief, written summary (no more than 250 words) of the specific ideas or concepts to be presented, and a statement of their relevance to practice or research.

There are three types of abstract types accepted for submission which are Research, Project or Program Report, and Future Practice. Review details about each below.

Research Abstracts

Research abstracts include a brief description of the author's original objective or hypothesis, research methodology including design, participant characteristics and procedures, and major findings and conclusions or implications for dietetics practice.

Project or Program Report Abstracts

Project or program report abstracts contain information about the need or purpose for such a program, project or tool development; the theory or previous research upon which it is based, or setting for its use, if appropriate; the unique characteristics of the project, program or tool; the characteristics of study participants or target audience involved; and the type of evaluation or proposed use for the tool or instrument development.

Future Practice Abstracts

Future Practice abstracts describe an original or new idea, method or tool that responds to changes and trends that are likely to have a significant impact on future practice, education, or research (i.e. changes in technology, healthcare, socioeconomic demographics, etc.) within the next 10 – 15 years. The Academy's Council on Future Practice uses the term "change drivers" to describe external and internal factors that will affect how we navigate the preferred future, which is the future we hope to see within the profession. Recent change drivers the CFP has explored are VUCA , COVID-19 and Technology , but abstracts do not need to be limited to these topics.

Up to six abstracts will be selected to present during a Future Practice Poster Session at FNCE^®. The format of this session is designed to facilitate meaningful conversations and foster a sense of community. Each presenter will have five minutes to showcase their work via oral presentation, followed by up to five minutes of Q&A from the audience and judges.

Selected research, project or program report, and future practice abstracts will be presented during Poster Sessions at FNCE^®. Please read each section below for specific guidelines for poster presentations.

Responsibilities

Poster presenters are:

• Required to register for FNCE^® and be present throughout the assigned presentation time.
• Responsible for expenses, such as printing the poster(s), incurred for their presentation.
• Responsible for paying the appropriate meeting registration fee.
• Responsible for paying the appropriate meeting registration fee for the day they are scheduled to present plus all personal expenses (eg, travel, hotel, meals).
• Required to complete and sign a disclosure statement and the Academy's Commercialism Policy statement prior to abstract acceptance.

If it becomes necessary for the presenter to withdraw from attending FNCE^®, the presenter must find an appropriate replacement and must notify the Academy of this change immediately. Presenters who withdraw, but do not notify the Academy, may not participate at FNCE^® as a presenter in any session for at least one year.

The following poster presenter guide was designed to provide information and guidance for developing quality poster for FNCE^®.

Primary/Presenting Authors

It is the Presenting Author’s responsibility to inform coauthors that the abstract has been accepted. All author names will be published in the October 2025 Supplement to the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Poster titles and presenting authors will be listed on the FNCE^® website. Only the primary/presenting author or a listed coauthor should present your abstract. Advance notice of any change of presenter is required for proper acknowledgment.

The 2025 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo^™ must be the first national or regional presentation and publication of your abstract, or you must withdraw or decline your acceptance.

FNCE^® Attendance/Registration

The presenting author is required to register and attend FNCE^®. for the assigned day of their presentation. Academy members and students receive value rates at FNCE^®.

Cancellations/Changes

The Academy must be informed of all cancellations or changes immediately up to the time of your presentation. If for any reason you need to cancel your poster, please notify the Academy’s Center for Lifelong Learning as soon as possible. Note that FNCE^® registrations are nontransferable. It is your responsibility to find a co-author to present your abstract at the poster session and for that person to pay the appropriate registration fees to attend FNCE^®. "No Shows" are strictly monitored and related abstract authors to the "No Shows" will not be allowed to present for at least one year.

Poster Preparation

• A poster presents content using charts, graphs, illustrations, and/or photographs as printed/mounted visuals.
• There is not a required size for your poster, but you want to make sure the font is large enough that it can be read from a short distance. You also want to make sure it's not too large or you will have difficulty pinning it up. Some suggested poster sizes are 72"x36" or 84″x42″.
• Plan to give a short information presentation as attendees gather near your display.
• Your poster should follow the outline of the abstract by presenting the objective (purpose); design, methods, and instruments; results; and conclusions.
• Your poster should highlight the important parts of your study/program and practice applications. It does not need to include every detail of the study or the complete abstract text, but rather it should serve as a visual aid to effectively communicate your work to others.
• Remember that attendees want to talk to authors. Be engaged!
• Before printing, proofread and share your poster with colleagues for feedback.

Handouts

You may, but are not required to, bring copies of your abstract or other handouts for distribution at your expense. Attendees will be able to view your poster in the FNCE^®. If you do choose to bring printed copies. We recommend bringing at least 100 copies. You are responsible for the removal post-event. The Academy does not reimburse for copying or handout supplies.

FNCE^® 2025 Poster Schedule

Poster sessions are scheduled by topic and dates of your assigned presentation are unable to be changed. The poster sessions are scheduled for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of FNCE^®. You will be notified of the day you are presenting upon acceptance. Primary authors may present one abstract poster session each day of FNCE^®. If the primary author cannot present the poster, a coauthor who will be attending may present the poster. Persons not listed as authors may not present the poster, unless advance permission from the Academy has been approved.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics maintains full control over the planning, content and implementation of all programs presented during the FNCE^®, including the selection of speakers, moderators and faculty. The intent of FNCE^® programs is to provide quality sessions focused on educational content free from commercial influence or bias. The Academy prohibits presentations that have as their purpose or effect promotion and/or advertising. This specifically includes pervasive or inappropriate use of brands, trademarks or logos. Presentations designed primarily as describing commercially marketed programs, publications or products will not be accepted or tolerated. To this end, program planners, session participants and sponsors are prohibited from engaging in scripting or targeting commercial or promotional points for specific emphasis, or other actions designed to infuse the overall content of the program with commercial or promotional messages. Statements made should not be viewed as, or considered representative of, any formal position taken on any product, subject, or issue by the Academy. It is the responsibility of the program planner to ensure compliance by all speakers.

Professional education, including posters presented at FNCE^®, are considered scientific activities by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and are therefore expected to adhere to the Academy's Scientific Integrity Principles, which include:

1. Ethical conduct of research and protection of human subjects
2. Publication of research regardless of outcome
3. Disclosure of funder’s influence on research
4. Disclosure of funder’s influence on education for professionals
5. Disclosure of funder’s influence on education for the public
6. Disclosure of funding source and conflicts of interest

All abstracts are anonymously peer-reviewed by a panel of three dietetics professionals with specific experience in appropriate practice areas. Reviewers may not score/evaluate any abstract with which they have affiliation, prior knowledge, or personal commitment.

The Call for Abstracts continues to be a competitive process. After all abstracts have been peer-reviewed and scored, the Academy makes the final selection for poster presentations at FNCE^® based on scoring criteria. Generally, around two-thirds of submitted abstracts meet the qualification criteria and are accepted for presentation. The percentage may vary slightly from year to year depending on space availability.

Basis for Review

Abstracts are reviewed on the basis of the following criteria.

Research Abstracts are reviewed on the basis of the following:

• Research outcome (focus, clarity, justification of the research question)
• Methods (adequate description of design and appropriateness to the research question)
• Analysis (analytic procedures appropriate to the data collected and the research question )
• Results (scientifically sound, valid presentation and interpretation of the results consistent with research question)
• Conclusions (appropriate representation of the results consistent with research question)
• Overall scientific quality merit of the research and contribution to the science

Project and Program Report Abstracts are reviewed on the basis of the following:

• Relevance (clear purpose of project/program, appropriateness, timeliness, audience)
• Priority (recognized precedent; cutting edge concern)
• Originality (uniqueness of format)
• Synthesis (evaluation and summary of report findings or application)

Future Practice Abstracts are reviewed on the following:

• Alignment with a change driver or future trend
• Application of the change driver to advance future practice, education, and/or research
• How it demonstrates favorable outcomes-process data and/or participant feedback
• Scalability: dissemination, usability, focus on long-term goals

The future practice oral presentation should go beyond presenting only the information in the poster. Answers to the following questions must be provided in the oral presentation:

• How could the change driver or future trend impact the profession?
• How can RDNs/NDTRs implement the idea, method or tool?
• Reflection questions: What did you learn? What went well? What would you have done differently? Are there plans to build on this work?
• The future practice poster presentations will be judged and the top submissions will be awarded the opportunity to showcase their work to a broader audience(s).

The Academy will summarize peer review results and make all final abstract selection decisions. This correspondence includes a receipt of abstract and final status notification. It is the presenting author’s responsibility to notify all coauthors of the abstract status. Receipt of abstract will be e-mailed.

Rules for Submission

Read all the following information before accessing the abstract submission site:

• Complete and submit all required fields in the online form including the funding source.
• Students submitting abstracts must provide the name, e-mail and phone number of their faculty advisor.
• Abstracts must be original material and may not have been previously published, printed or presented before FNCE^®. Abstracts found to have been printed, published or presented prior to October 2025 will be disqualified from presentation at FNCE^®.
• Research results and/or conclusions must be completed at the time of submission.
• Proofread your abstract carefully. Do not rely on computer spell check software only. Any abstracts that have significant typographical or grammatical errors may be disqualified. If accepted, the original Abstract Form as submitted online will be published "as is" in the October 2025 Supplement to the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. All abstract authors will be listed in the Journal supplement.
• Please indicate the appropriate topic and type of abstract.
• Submissions must be made by 5 p.m. (Central time) on Monday, February 17, 2025. No emailed or faxed abstracts will be accepted. Abstracts that do not comply with these instructions will not be reviewed.

Award programs are available to members who submitted abstracts by the deadline.

Margaret Dullea Simko Award for Excellence at a Clinical Poster Session

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation is proud to offer the Margaret Dullea Simko Award for Excellence at a Clinical Poster Session at FNCE^® 2025. This award serves to recognize quality poster sessions at FNCE^® and encourage high-quality poster session admissions in the future.

Five pre-selected clinical posters will be judged during the FNCE^® poster session, and the winners will be notified shortly thereafter. The first place recipient will be awarded $300 and, if funds allow, the first runner-up will be awarded $150. The amount and availability of the award is determined by investment return of the fund endowment.

Questions? Please contact Foundation staff for more information.

The ON DPG Award for Excellence in Oncology Nutrition Research

The Oncology Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group (ON DPG) honors scientific achievement in oncology nutrition research through this annual award, given each year for the top rated abstract relating to oncology nutrition submitted for presentation at FNCE^®. Awardees will receive a complimentary one-year membership in the ON DPG. The awardee must be an Academy member. Additionally, an award recognizing their achievements will be presented at the ON DPG business meeting during FNCE^® in which they present their research findings.

Award winners are strongly encouraged to publish their research findings in a peer-reviewed journal. Assistance with manuscript preparation is available if requested. Abstracts submitted to the Academy for consideration for presentation at the annual meeting and contain the words "cancer" or "oncology" in the title or abstract will be considered for this award. The report must meet the criteria for submission as a research abstract. Program/Project Report abstracts will not be considered for this award.

For more information, please contact Paula Charuhas Macris.

Outstanding Abstracts

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' Lifelong Learning Committee will be recognizing abstracts that received the highest scores from FNCE^® reviewers. These abstracts will receive a certificate acknowledging the achievement.

Future Practice Abstracts

The future practice posters will be a juried session and the top two submissions will be awarded.

If your data/outcomes will not be finalized by the February 17 deadline, we encourage you to submit a late breaking abstract. This category is intended for ground-breaking research that was not available at the time of the original abstract deadline, not to offer a second deadline for those abstracts that were not accepted.

The Academy accepts a limited number of late-breaking abstracts. The submission site for late-breaking abstracts closed on May 31. Notifications will be sent in July.

Late-breaking abstract submissions will be published in the October issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. These accepted abstracts will be scheduled for either Sunday, Monday or Tuesday of FNCE^® based on topic.

The call for late-breaking abstracts will accept submissions in the following categories: research, project/program and future practice abstracts.