Western Medical Research Conference 

Call for Abstracts

Research Travel Award Opportunities Available 

Meeting Dates

January 18-20, 2024

Abstract Deadline: 

September 22, 2023 by 11:59pm (midnight) PST

Western Medical Research Conference

Application for CME credit has been filed with the American Academy of Family Physicians. Determination of credit is pending.

MEETING DATES:

January 18-20, 2024

PLACE:

Sunset Center

San Carlos between 8th and 9th Carmel, California

Phone: 831/624-3996

ABSTRACT DEADLINE:

September 22, 2023 – 11:59 pm midnight (PST)

 

PARTICIPATING SOCIETIES:

WAFMR     Western Section – American Federation for Medical Research WAP     Western Association of Physicians

WSCI        Western Society of Clinical Investigation WSPR       Western Society for Pediatric Research

WSMRF     Western Students and Residents Medical Research Forum

CLUB MEETINGS:*

Western Dysmorphology Club Western Perinatal Club Western Respiratory Club

Important Information

This abstract brochure is for the 2024 Western Medical Research Conference. Included in the Call for Abstracts bro- chure is information unique to the Western Medical Research Conference. Please submit your abstract via the electronic submission form: https://wrm2024.abstractcentral.com It is required of all abstract submitters to complete a CME Disclosure Form and for each co-author. This is available when you log in to submit your abstract. You must fill this form out in order to continue. For further information on the Meeting please visit the AFMR website (http://www.afmr.org) or WSPR (https://www.westernspr.org). It is REQUIRED that you submit your abstract electronically. If you encounter problems submitting your abstract electronically, please contact ScholarOne directly:Technical Support: 855-258-5858 or email: s1abstractshelp@clarivate.com. Technical Support Hours: 12:00 AM-8:30 PM ET Monday-Friday. There is no technical support on Saturday or Sunday. If other questions arise, email Lori.Ennis@medpubinc.com for assistance.

Information for Fellows, Trainees, and Jr. Faculty

The WMRC will accept abstract submissions and the top scoring abstracts will be given the opportunity to give an oral presentation or a poster presentation as well as be eligible for research travel awards. The abstracts will be published in the Journal of Investigative Medicine. Apply as part of the abstract submission process. We strongly encourage Fellows/ Jr. Faculty to submit abstracts to the 2024 meeting. This meeting is in an atmosphere that allows networking among physician-scientists.

Student or trainee researchers are expected to have appropriate oversight. To ensure this, we require that any submissions from a student or trainee must include a faculty member as a co-author.

If the abstract involves human research, IRB approval is needed upon submission.

Is Mentor a Jr. Faculty, Instructor or Assistant Professor – will need to include on submission.

Abstract Policies

No revisions or changes will be accepted to submitted abstracts after the deadline.

1. All abstracts are peer-reviewed and ranked on the basis of scientific merit by experts in the category The Program Committees use these rankings to develop the final meeting program. Abstracts submitted for presentation will be published at the discretion of the Western Medical Research Conference Program Committee. The decisions of the Program Com- mittee are final. Abstracts will not be reviewed if received after the deadline.
2. The committee will decide on oral and poster Submitter will not be given a choice upon submission.
3. AFMR requires a nonrefundable abstract fee of $85.00 to cover the costs of processing, review and/or publication. This is separate from the registration fee. You must register to attend the meeting if you are presenting an abstract. Include separate payment with each abstract submitted. Payment must be made by credit card (American Express, MasterCard, or Visa). No checks or purchase orders will be accepted.
4. INFORMED CONSENT AND DISCLOSURE: AFMR has adopted guidelines for conflicts of interest (see Clinical Research, Volume 38, Number 2, April, 1990). Investigators should consider and disclose potential conflicts of interest in connection with papers presented at the regional meetings. All abstracts must comply with each of the following: (1) the responsible author must assure that at the time of submission, the material submitted herein will not have been accepted for publication or published in any full length manuscript or the same abstract published in another journal. Note, the material may have been presented at another regional or national meeting with a focused audience (i.e., such as a subspecialty meeting), (2) that if accepted, an eligible author must be in attendance at the meeting at the speci- fied date and time to present the abstract; (3) that any animal studies conform with the “Guiding Principles in the Care and Use of Animals” of the American Physiological Society; (4) that any human experimentation was conducted according to a protocol ap approved by an Institu-tional Review Board on ethics of human investigation (if no such Board exists, please state in a separate letter what standards were used to assess the ethical property of the protocol); and (5) that potential conflicts of interest will be disclosed at time of presentation of All potential conflicts of interest should be detailed in a separate letter and uploaded with your abstract. Such information will not be available to the abstract review committee.

Abstract Procedures

Step-by-Step Instructions for Electronic Submission. All users are considered New and must Create an Account.

1. For the Western Medical Research Conference proceed to: https://wrm2024.abstractcentral.com.
2. The first step is to “Create an Account”. Information is not saved from one year to the Click on the “Create an Ac- count” link in the left side bar menu. During account creation, please bear in mind:
   1. All fields with a red asterisk are
   2. Your e-mail address is the primary method of All system e-mails and other notifications related to the meeting will be sent to this address. Please keep your e-mail address up-to-date!

3. The User ID and password that you create will be needed to log into the site after your account is Your User ID must be at least 6 characters long and can be a combination of letters and numbers. User ID and Password are case-sensitive.
4. The last step in creating your account is to request a “role.” For example, if you are requesting the “Abstract Submission” role, you need only check the box and you will receive the role automatically. You will then be able to submit an abstract by logging in, then clicking on the “Submission” tab at the top of the If you are not the presenter, you must have all of their information to complete the submission.

3. Once you have logged in using your User Name and Password, click on the Submission tab at the top of page, then on the “Create a New Submission” link located on the left-hand menu bar.
4. It is recommended that you step through the submission pages in a methodical manner, going page by page and filling

in the information as you go along, beginning with Step 1: Title/Body page.

5. The title must be brief and indicate clearly the nature of the The title should be entered in UPPERCASE letters. PLEASE DO NOT enter the title in mixed case. Abbreviations must not be used in the title.

6. Do not include authors or institutions in the body of your Type or copy/paste each section of the abstract body into their respective fields. On Step 1: Title/Body page, the body of the abstract must be separated into the fields designated as: Purpose of Study, Methods Used, Summary of Results, and Conclusions, respectively.
7. You must complete the Disclosure Information on Step 2: Disclosures page.
8. The character limit is 3000 characters for only the Abstract Body and can include up to 1 table and 1
9. Please enter all authors in the order they should appear in the heading of the abstract. Complete contact information must be entered for the Presenting Author and the Contact Only name and email address are required for co-authors. If you are not the Presenter on an abstract, you will need to provide full contact information on the Presenter.

10. Enter all institutional
11. Carefully check the proof of your Make sure all special characters and formatting is displaying properly in your proof. If you find errors, return to the appropriate page by clicking on the page name in the sidebar menu, and make your corrections.
12. If you have not completed all required sections/items you will not be able to submit your In the case of missing items, you will be prompted to enter the missing information. When all required information is entered, click “Submit” to submit your abstract. Payment is required to complete submission of the abstract.

Abstract Categories to choose from on abstract submission form:

Adolescent Medicine and General Pediatrics

Behavior, Development and Child Psychology

Cardiology

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Research

Endocrinology and Metabolism

Gastroenterology

Genetics

Healthcare Delivery Research

Community Health Project

Medical Education and Training Research Quality Improvement

Hematology and Oncology Immunology and Rheumatology

Infectious Diseases

Morphogenesis and Malformations

Neonatology General

Neonatology – Perinatal Biology

Neonatology – Pulmonary

Nephrology and Hypertension – Adult

Neuroscience

Pulmonary & Critical Care Adult

Surgery

Abstract Deadline:

September 22, 2023

11:59 pm (PST)

Meeting Dates:

January 18-20, 2024

Sunset Center, Carmel, California

The plenary session and registration for all attendees of the Carmel meeting will be held at the Sunset Center. Check-in on-site when you arrive in Carmel to receive your name badge and your program book. The program for 2024 will begin on Thursday morning with the WAP/WSCI Plenary and subspecialty session presentations in the afternoon. The Plenary Session will be held on Friday afternoon and the subspecialty sessions for Friday will be in the morning and continue through Saturday morning. The meeting will conclude at noon on Saturday. Highlights of the 2024 program are listed below.

The WMRC meeting will be held over January 18-20, 2024. Top scoring abstracts will be given the opportunity to give an oral presentation or a poster presentation.

The abstract fee of $85 is a separate charge from the meeting registration. The abstract deadline is September 22, 2023. The abstract site now open and abstracts can be submitted by going to: https://wrm2024.abstractcentral.com

Plenary

Western Association of American Physicians Western Society for Clinical Investigation

Thursday, January 18, 2024 ♦ 10:00 AM – 11:45 AM

Plenary Symposium

Friday, January 19, 2024 ♦ 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM

State-of-the-Art Talks

Many subspecialty sessions will have a state-of-the-art speaker

Investigator Workshops Thursday, January 18, 2024

How to Publish: Tips from the Editor (Fellows, Trainees, and Jr. Faculty)

Editor, Journal of Investigative Medicine – High Impact Case Reports Friday, January 29, 2024

Mentor Workshop

Food Truck Available in Sunset Center Parking Lot

(These talks are aimed at Jr. faculty and fellows, students and trainees also welcome to attend)

Welcome Reception and Poster Session Thursday, January 18, 2024 ♦ 6:00 pm-7:30 pm

The Welcome Reception and Poster Session will include food and beverages and will be held on Thursday, January 18 from 6:00 pm-7:30 pm at All Saints Church. All attendees for the Carmel Meetings are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Western Award Considerations

1. Fellows, Trainees, and Junior Faculty Awards. These awards will be presented to meritorious abstracts for selected subspecialties. The abstract will be chosen for an award based on score.
2. WAFMR Young Investigator Award. A young investigator award will be presented by WAFMR for

the outstanding abstract submitted by a junior faculty member (instructor or assistant professor level). Candidates for the award must be available the day of presentation at the 2024 Western Medical Research Conference.

Candidates are requested to upload the individual’s curriculum vitae, a letter of nomination from their section/division

chief or chair attesting to the significance of the work, and a copy of their abstract marked “COPY” by September 22, 2023. This information should be uploaded via the ScholarOne website when you submit your abstract.

1. WAP–WSCI Outstanding Investigator Award. This award will be given for distinguished research to an accomplished investigator. Names are solicited from the Chairs of Medicine. If you wish to recommend a candidate, please contact your department chair. Candidates for the awards must check this box on the electronic submission form in order to be Upload a letter of nomination and a copy of the indivdual’s CV. The infor- mation will then be sent to Dr. W. Conrad Liles, MD, President, WAP-WSCI, and submitted by September 22, 2023.

1. Mayo Soley This award will be given to a senior investigator for life time achievement in the area of scientific endeavor and training of junior investigators. A nominating letter and two seconding letters should be uploaded via the Scholar One website by September 22, 2023 and the items will be forwarded to Dr. Fred Buckner.
2. WAP-WSCI Travel Awards. WSCI travel awards will be given to the top abstract in each subspecialty category submitted by a resident, fellow or junior faculty member.
3. WSPR offers several annual research and educational awards as outlined in the WSPR Newsletter and WSPR website. Awards that require nomination include an Abbott Nutrition Young Investigator Award, David W. Smith Pediatric Trainee Research Award, and Joseph Geme Education Award. Highest rated abstract for medical student receives the Lowell Glasgow Student Research Award and the highest rated abstract for PL1, PL2, PL3 pediatric trainee receives the Abbott Nutrition Pediatric Resident Award. There are awards for the highest rated abstract in each WSPR session.
4. WAFMR/WSPR Outstanding Student Research Awards. WAFMR and WSPR will offer awards for outstanding research performed by students in each This award will recognize outstanding abstracts presented by students.

2. WAFMR/WSPR Outstanding Resident Research WAFMR and WSPR will offer awards for outstanding research performed or physiologic case reports given by residents.

3. WAFMR Trainee Research Award – These awards will be given to the presenter (or first author) of the most out standing abstract(s) submitted to Western Medical Research Conference in Carmel, The number of awards given is at the discretion of the committee.

Criteria/Eligibility: To accept the AFMR Trainee Research Award, trainees must become an AFMR member. Candidates must be either medical students, residents, clinical fellows, physicians pursuing PhDs or other graduate degrees, and other post-doctoral fellows. You may go online to join AFMR or renew your Membership. Candidates are required to upload a curriculum vitae at time of submission.