ABSTRACT AND POSTER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR ALL STUDENTS
All graduate students in BIOF/IOP/GSAT/IOGS in their second year or above are expected to present a speed talk or poster.
If you are in your second year or above and are unable to a attend/present a poster, please email your program coordinator and CC bigresearchday.ubc@gmail.com AND your supervisor (Link to Email)
We also welcome submissions from any life sciences graduate students outside of the BIG programs!
Abstract Submission Guidelines
Submission Deadline: February 15th, 2025 at 11:59 pm PST.
Abstract submission is now closed!
Your abstract must be no more than 2000 characters (including spaces) excluding the title and authors and should be in one paragraph (no separate sections such as background, methods, results, etc.).
The author list should be formatted as follows: last name first, followed by a comma and initials of first and middle names. Author names should be separated by a semicolon.
Abstracts submitted after February 15th (late abstracts) may be accepted if space allows, but please note:
Late abstracts will not be included in the abstract booklet and will not be considered for speed talks.
Posters from late abstracts will not be judged and will not be eligible for awards.
Posters printing costs will not be covered by your graduate program in the event of late abstract submission.
Students will be informed if they have been selected for a speed talk by Tuesday, February 25th. Those who were not selected will be required to present a poster.
For abstract-related inquiries, please contact us at bigresearchday.ubc@gmail.com
Poster Guidelines
Maximum poster size is 48 inches x 36 inches dimensions (H x W). Make sure to leave a 0.5” margin around the margin of the paper.
The file size needs to be the exact size you want to be printed (The dpi of the file needs to be set between 200-300).
PowerPoint: The files need to be a grouped file (need to reinsert all Excel-related tables and components as a picture into your files).
Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator: flatten all layers into a single-layer file before you save it as a PDF. The files need to be saved in CMYK.
A PowerPoint poster template with the correct formatting guidelines is available below (file download):
PowerPoint template download
Poster Guidelines
Posters should be mounted to the poster board in the West Atrium by 10:30 AM on the day of the conference. Please mount your poster on the designated poster ID number for your abstract as noted in the abstract booklet. Students in the B.I.G. graduate programs who had submitted their posters for printing by the organizing committee will have it mounted on their behalf prior to the start of the conference
Poster presentation periods will be from 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM for even-numbered posters, and 2:45 PM - 3:45 PM for odd-numbered posters. Please stand by your poster during your presentation period, two poster judges will drop by to evaluate it.
Poster presentations will be evaluated for the following criteria:
Poster Layout, Design, and Flow
Oral Communication
Project Aim Clarity and Rationale
Aims, Methodology, Key Results, and Conclusions
Depth of Understanding + Ability to Answer Questions
Posters can be dismounted at the end of your presentation period, or at any time before the end of the conference at 6 PM. Students who had their posters printed by the organizing committee are welcome to keep their posters. All posters left on the poster boards after 6 PM will be discarded.
Poster Printing Submission
Submission Deadline: Wednesday, March 5th, 2025 at 11:59 pm PST
For B.I.G. Students ONLY:
Rather than having to send your posters to a printing company, you can simply upload them using the link below:
Click Here to submit your poster.
Students from other programs are required to print their own posters.
Posters must be formatted in portrait format with 48 inches x 36 inches dimensions (height x width).
Posters must be submitted in PDF format.
B.I.G students are also not required to pick up their posters - posters will be mounted and ready for you on the day of the event.
BIG Research Day will not be responsible for formatting posters that have been submitted with the wrong dimensions.
Speed Talk Guidelines
Speed talks will consist of a 5 minute presentation and a 5 minute Q&A session.
Due to time constraints, speakers will be stopped after the 5 minute presentation time.
Students selected for a speed talk are also welcome to present their research as a poster in addition to the speed talk, although this is not required.
Speed talk slides must be prepared and submitted by Sunday, March 16 at 11:59 PM.
Please email your slides to rhausman@bccrc.ca with “BIG25 SPEED TALK SLIDES” as the subject.
Mini Symposium Guidelines
Mini symposium talks will consist of a 15 minute presentation and a 5 minute Q&A session.
Due to time constraints, speakers will be stopped after the 15 minute presentation time.
Students selected for a mini symposium talk are also welcome to present their research as a poster in addition to the talk, although this is not required.
Mini symposium slides must be prepared and submitted by Sunday, March 16 at 11:59 PM.
Please email your slides to rhausman@bccrc.ca with “BIG25 MINI SYMPOSIUM SLIDES” as the subject.