The potential significance of the observations, as well as the rigor with which the scientific methods in the studies have been applied, will influence which abstracts will be accepted. Particularly for studies of well-established agents or diseases, emphasize the features of the project that are new or different.

Abstracts must be based on results that have not, nor will not have been:

• published in any journal, or on any web site before September 12, 2010, nor
• presented at any national or international scientific conference prior to September 12, 2010
• Clearly define all concepts and abbreviations at first use. Do not assume that the reviewer will recognize "buzzwords" or "catch phrases".
• If English is not your primary language, attempt to have your abstract reviewed by a native English speaker.
• Do not submit multiple abstracts on overlapping facets of the same project unless each abstract has important information and clearly stands on its own, as only one will be considered for acceptance. Repetitive abstracts will be rejected, with the reason that the data duplicates or overlaps another abstract. The information should be combined when presenting the accepted abstract.
• Authors submitting abstracts containing information possibly relating to patent matters should resolve all such issues before submitting an abstract.
• All presentations dealing with the isolation, purification, structure-activity relationships, mechanisms of action, in vivo/in vitro microbiology, PK/PD in animals and Pre-US IND or non-US early phase I studies must include meaningful data (e.g., producing organism, purification steps, physical-chemical characterization, structures, MICs, ED50s) to describe new compounds and their properties. Submission of abstracts is conditional on the assurance of all authors that chemical structures of lead compounds will be included as part of any poster accepted for presentation

Format
To be acceptable, abstracts shall contain a concise statement of the research. Please follow a structured format, indicating in bold the four parts of your abstract:

• Background: The problem under investigation or a hypothesis;
• Methods: The experimental methods used (including numbers of microorganisms and/or patients);
• Results: The essential results obtained in summary form. Sufficient quantitative data and statistical tests must be presented to permit evaluation by reviewers (generalizations or statements such as "to be completed" are not acceptable); and
• Conclusion: a summary of your findings which are supported by your results (statements such as "the results will be discussed" are not acceptable). Number the conclusions, if multiple ones are presented.

Submissions

• Your proofed abstract may be uploaded or typed directly at the web site.
• If your abstract is uploaded as a word processing file, there is no need to use HTML coding in order to indicate sub or superscripts, boldface, italics or other special characters.
• If you type your abstract directly into the web site, special online formatting options are available.
• Keep a copy of your abstract submission and notification of receipt.
• The Program Committee will not review abstracts received after July 23 for any reason.
• Carefully review the below summary of submission steps in order to familiarize yourself with the electronic submission process prior to going online

Technical Support
If you have any questions regarding use of the abstract submission site please contact technical support:

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: (217) 398-1792 Fax: (217) 355-0101

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Step One: Login

Please use your ASM eStore login credentials. If you forgot your username/password or to confirm that you have an eStore account, press the "Password Reminder" link on the homepage of the submission site. If you do not have an ASM eStore account, you may create one by following the link of the homepage of the submission site.

Step Two: Submit
For the 50th ICAAC, click the "Submit" button to begin the Late-breaker abstract submission process.

Step Three: Affirmations
In order to proceed with abstract submission please indicate, online, your agreement with the following statements.

• • This abstract is based on results that have not, nor will not have been published in any journal before September 12, 2010 or presented at any national or international scientific conference prior to September 12, 2010.
  • All authors are aware that their names appear on this abstract.
  • I understand that if this abstract is accepted, ASM will hold the Copyright.
  • I understand that if this abstract is accepted as a poster, it may be photographed by attendees of the meeting for their personal use.
  • I understand that if this Late-breaker abstract is withdrawn after July 30, 2010, or if one of the authors does not appear to present an accepted abstract, a penalty may be incurred prohibiting the presenting author from presenting papers at ASM-sponsored meetings for a period of up to three years.
  • I understand that if this abstract is accepted I will comply with the rule (if applicable) that all presentations dealing with the isolation, purification, structure-activity relationships, mechanisms of action, in vivo/in vitro microbiology, PK/PD in animals and Pre-US IND or non-US early phase I studies must include meaningful data (e.g., producing organism, purification steps, physical-chemical characterization, structures, MICs, ED50s) to describe new compounds and their properties and that chemical structures of lead compounds will be included as part of my poster presentation.

Step Four: Title (included in the 1900 character limit - spaces are not counted)
Please use a short and concise title that indicates the content of the abstract. Capitalize the first letter of each word except prepositions, articles and species names, italicize scientific names of organisms by highlighting the term and clicking the online format tool bar for italics (example: "Staphylococcus aureus" will appear as Staphylococcus aureus). For therapeutic agents, only generic names may be used (no trade names are permitted in abstract titles).

Click the " Continue " button.

Step Five: Authors, CME Disclosures, Groups and Institutions
Authors, groups and institutions are included in the 1900 character limit - spaces are not counted.

Author's names will be displayed in ALL CAPITAL letters, using first initial(s) and full last name. Presenting authors will be displayed in bold type (e.g. J. SMITH , W. S. BROWN, and R. A. JONES).

ASM will correspond with the presenting author only. It is the responsibility of the presenting author to contact all co-authors with the disposition and scheduling of the abstract. The complete address of the presenting author is required in order to assure that correspondence arrives promptly and easily. International submitters should be sure to include a valid fax number and/or e-mail address.

CME Disclosures: ASM’s Disclosure of Commercial Relationship(s) Policy
(Please note: you will only be required to provide this information if your abstract has been accepted as an oral presentation).
As a provider accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), the ASM requires itself (i.e., the association), its staff, and oversight and planning committees (i.e., 50th ICAAC Program Committee) to disclose to all stakeholders and learners that the individual either has No Relevant Financial Relationship(s) OR has any Relevant Financial Relationship(s)¹ Disclosure includes: the name of the individual, the name of the commercial interest², and the nature of the relationship³.

¹Financial relationships in any amount occurring within the past twelve (12) months that creates a personal conflict of interest.
²Commercial interest(s) producing health care goods or services or providing support (e.g., grants or in-kind support), except non-profit or government organizations and non-health care related companies.
³Financial relationships are those relationships in which the individual benefits by receiving a salary, royalty, intellectual property rights, consulting fee, honoraria, ownership interest, (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interest, excluding diversified mutual funds), or other financial benefit. Financial benefits are usually associated with roles such as employment, management position, independent contractor (including contracted research), consulting, speaking and teaching, membership on advisory committees or review panels, board membership, and other activities from which remuneration is received, or expected. ACCME considers relationships of the person involved in the CME activity to include financial relationships of a spouse or partner.

ASM’s Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationship(s) Procedures
Consistent with this policy, the ASM will inform participants in the 50th ICAAC via the Online Program Planner, website, and Final Program whether each contributor had no relevant financial relationship(s), to disclose or disclosed relevant financial relationship(s) (including the name of the individual, the name of the commercial interest[s], the nature of the relationship[s], and the value of the relationship[s]). This policy is intended to make you aware of faculty disclosure so that attendees may form independent judgments about material discussed during the 50th ICAAC.
ASM will also

• Instruct each contributor/presenter/faculty to provide in their audio-visuals, handouts, and/or verbally, relevant disclosure information at the beginning of their session.
• Ask participants to notify ASM staff, if they have a concern (e.g., commercially-biased presentation, promotional materials distributed by presenters and/or participants, etc.) so that staff can respond immediately to their concerns.

Click the "Continue" button

Step Six: Author/Group
Click "Add a Group" or "Add an Author" for each co-author or group. Institutions should be entered for each author. If you wish to add multiple institutions for an author, click the "ADD INSTITUTION" link below the respective author's name For proper abbreviations of institutions, please refer to the Abbreviations List. Each institution and author will be referenced with superscript numbers and include the institution's, city, two-letter state abbreviation and country (DO NOT enter department, division, zip code, etc.).

Click the "Continue" button.

Step Seven: Abstract Text
Abstract Text: (included in the 1900 character limit - spaces are not counted)

Your abstract may have up to 1900 characters which includes title, authors, institution, abstract text, tables and graphics (spaces are not counted). A Times New Roman font is recommended.

• • Do not include title or authors within the abstract text
  • Special and scientific characters may also be included. The following additions to the abstract reduces the character limit as follows: table: 1650; graphic: 1400; table and graphic: 1150.
  • Prior to upload, format the abstract into four (4) sections and bold each section as follows:
    
    "Background" , "Methods" , "Results" , and "Conclusions"

Abstract Template: The above four sections are included on the abstract template to support publication consistency. Simply type into the abstract template, the text for each section of the abstract.

Options:

• You may directly type your abstract text into abstract template provided online, or
• You may upload a word processor document containing the four sections of the abstract.
• Once your abstract text is saved, you will be given the opportunity to add a graphic or table.

Tables:

• The recommended table size is 5 columns by 8 rows
• Count as 250 characters which are included in the 1900 character limit.

Options

• File Upload: Submit your table with your uploaded abstract text. Use this method if you will need to edit and/or include special symbols
• Table Generator: Limit of 5 columns and 8 rows. Use tab to move between cells. (online instructions are available as you proceed)

Graphics:

• The recommended graphic size, to optimize resolution, is 2 inches wide by 3 inches tall and 300 DPI
• Count as 500 characters which are included in the 1900 character limit
• Are submitted separately, subsequent to abstract text
• Will appear large on screen, but will be adapted for publication

Step Eight: Keywords

Keywords are completely independent of each other and should be able to stand alone in the index. Words should be lowercase, except for genus names and proper nouns. For Greek characters, please spell out names. Organisms will be italicized in final publications. Enter up to three keywords.
Click the " Continue" button.

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If an abstract must be withdrawn from consideration, the author must send a letter of explanation to ASM. Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to submit your withdrawal request. If an abstract has been accepted, yet is published prior to 50th ICAAC, the authors agree to withdraw the abstract. Withdrawals of abstracts made after May 28, 2010, and after July 30, 2010 for Late-breaker abstracts can be subject to a penalty as described below.

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Persons who submit abstracts should consider them official communication to the conference. The following cases can incur a penalty, prohibiting the author from presenting papers at ASM meetings and conferences for up to three years. A letter will be mailed to individuals being subject to this penalty. Those who wish to dispute the penalty must write a letter to the ICAAC Program Committee and send it to the attention of the Program Development Manager, ASM Meetings Department. A response letter will be sent to the presenting author once the committee has considered and acted on your exception request.
Cases subject to penalty:

• Submission of an abstract based on results that have been published in any journal, or on any web site before September 12, 2010; or presented or submitted for presentation at any public scientific conference prior to September 12, 2010.
• Withdrawal of an abstract after the May 28 deadline for original abstract deadline submission, July 30 for Late-breaker abstracts.
• Failure of any of the co-authors to present an accepted abstract as scheduled.
• Failure to disclose to the ICAAC audience when an off-label use of a drug is presented, per AMA guidelines.
• Use of a slide or poster presentation for promotional purposes.
• Presentation of an un-authorized abstract.
• Removal of a poster before the close of poster area hours, as posters are to remain up all day for the review of the ICAAC audience.

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The main factors considered by the Program Committee in qualifying abstracts for acceptance are the quality of the research, the content of the abstract and the presentation of the abstract. Approximately 40% of the abstracts and 75% of Late-breaker abstracts submitted are not accepted. Refer to the reasons for rejection listed below which are used by the ICAAC Program Committee. In addition, you must obtain the approval of all co-authors before placing their names on the abstract. Failure to do so will result in immediate rejection of the abstract as soon as the ICAAC Program Committee is aware of the violation. Because of the time constraints associated with a meeting of this size, there is no appeal process and no opportunity to resubmit when an abstract is rejected. Therefore, be certain that your abstract submission meets the criteria and guidelines given in this Call for Abstracts.

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Data inadequate or insufficient raw data to support conclusions

• Hard to understand or not well written
• Low priority or unclear significance
• Methods or controls inadequate or missing
• "n" too small or missing
• Not (enough) new information
• Overlaps with (or is a duplicate of) another abstract
• Preliminary
• Previously published
• Promotional in nature
• Statistical evaluation inadequate or missing

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Abstract disposition notices will be made available through email notification to presenting authors only on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 (by 5 p.m. EST) for regular submissions and Friday, August 6, 2010 for Late-breaker submissions. The online notification of acceptance status includes a printable copy of a formal acceptance letter. It is the responsibility of the presenting author to inform all co-authors of disposition status and accepted abstract scheduling information.
If you and/or your lab have more than one abstract accepted, please be aware that due to the large number of presentations, it is impossible for the Committee to consider special scheduling requests. If you have not received notification by June 17, 2010 for regular submissions or August 9, 2010 for Late-breaker submissions, email: icaacpc@asmusa.org to have a disposition notice resent.

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Poster Guidelines(PDF format ) - Are available at the top of this page
In recent years, approximately 80% of the accepted abstracts have been assigned to poster sessions, with the other 20% designated to slide sessions. The Program Committee determines the appropriate method for presentation based on the subject matter. Requests for a particular day or time of presentation, or proximity to another abstract presentation, and presentation formats are not accepted by the ICAAC Program Committee. More than 2,000 abstracts will be presented during the 50th ICAAC and the programming of these presentations is a formidable task even without special considerations.

Poster Sessions
Poster sessions are scheduled for a full day of display. The presenter must prepare a poster that will fit within the dimensions of the poster board, which is 4 feet tall by 8 feet wide. The poster presenter must also be prepared to be at his or her board for an assigned 2 hour time commitment. Posters must be hung 15 minutes before the Exhibit Hall is scheduled to open and must remain up for the entire day on which the poster is to be presented. Posters must be removed at the time the Exhibit Hall closes, as poster presenters will need to exit the Exhibit Hall no later than 30 minutes after its scheduled closing time.

Slide Sessions
Oral papers are scheduled with 10 minutes of slide (PowerPoint) presentation followed by five minutes of discussion. A computer will be available in each session room for use in presenting PowerPoint presentations. This will eliminate the need to bring a laptop computer. IT IS REQUESTED THAT ALL PRESENTERS USE POWER POINT TO PREPARE THEIR PRESENTATIONS. All session rooms will be networked onto a server, which will project all Power Point presentations onto the screen located in the room. One month prior to the meeting, an FTP server will be available to upload presentations prior to your arrival in Boston, MA. Further detailed information will become available as closer to the meeting.

Compilations of Abstracts
Exhibiting companies may compile and distribute abstracts of any of the 50th ICAAC Annual Meeting abstract presentations only with prior approval of the Program Committee and ASM. Compilations must accurately reflect the abstracts and not contain promotional information. Distribution will be allowed from a designated area in the Exhibit Hall. Abstract compilations left in the poster area will be removed by ASM staff.

Abstract submitters should be aware of this policy so they do not give permission to any company seeking to publish and distribute such a compilation without permission of the ICAAC Program Committee.

Individual abstract presenters are encouraged to prepare handouts of their individual posters for distribution at their poster.

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• Poster Guidelines
• Oral Presentations Guidelines and A/V Information

  Advance Presentation Submission
  A submission site will be available for speakers to submit their presentation in advance of the meeting. The presentation will be tested by Freeman, ICAAC’s audio-visual provider, to make certain there are no compatibility issues. This will minimize any disruption during your presentation at the meeting.
  In August, you will receive an email from the audio-visual provider with instructions on how to submit your presentation in advance.
  You will still be required to bring a copy of your presentation to the meeting in the event that a back-up copy is needed.

  Presentation Information
  All presenters will control the flow of their presentation using a mouse and confidence monitor provided at the podium.

  AV Instructions
  Even if you are an experienced presenter, please take a moment to read the AV Instructions. This document contains important information on pre-show preparation; guidelines for Apple computer users; fonts; embedded audio, pictures, and video; properly marking your Zip 100/250 disk or CD-ROM; and more.

  Speaker Ready Room
  Speakers are requested to drop off their presentation(s) in the Speaker Ready Room of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, at least 24 HOURS in advance of the session start time. Professional audiovisual consultants will be in the Speaker Ready Room for assistance. Computers in the Speaker Ready Room are configured exactly like the ones in the meeting rooms. From the Speaker Ready Room, the presentations will be loaded onto the server and then uploaded to the session room.

  Session Room
  Please visit your session room at least one half hour before the session begins. Any questions about the set up or available equipment, should be brought to the attention of the AV technician in the session room.

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