WINTER CONFERENCE ON BRAIN RESEARCH

Scientific Submissions

Diversity in Science

The Winter Conference on Brain Research supports diversity in science — to make science careers accessible to people of all backgrounds, enhance participation of diverse populations in clinical studies, bring various research questions into the scientific community, and, on a practical level, enable WCBR to continue competing successfully for the NIH R13 Grant that supports travel fellows. WCBR recognizes that diversity takes many forms, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, disability, professional seniority, type of home institution, scientific background, financial background (e.g., qualified for federal grants in college), and educational background (e.g., first-generation college students or high school experiences absent of Advanced Placement, Honors, or International Baccalaureate programs).

Photography and Videography Policy

Winter Brain does not allow photography of oral presentations, slides, and/or posters without permission from the presenter. At the beginning of the presentation, the presenter must either grant permission to the audience and/or include an icon on the first slide or poster signifying photos are allowed. No videography by attendees is allowed at oral presentations, slides, and/or posters.

 

Scientific Session Descriptions

Panels & Short Courses – Opening July 1, 2025

Panel duration is 1.5 or 2 hours. Each panel must have a chair and a minimum of 3 speakers.  1.5 hour panels typically consist of 3-4 speakers. 2 hour panels typically consist of 4 speakers, but can include up to 6 speakers if needed. A co-chair is optional.

Everyone is welcome to submit panel/short course/poster proposals, including first-time attendees at any academic level! We especially encourage submissions from junior investigators and trainees. To facilitate the process of creating panel proposals we have a Panel Interest Form, where you can provide your contact information, topic of interest for a panel presentation, and your desired role (Chair, Co-Chair, Presenter). Note that potential Chairs and Co-Chairs can also be a Presenter in a panel. Please use the Panel Interest Form to advertise your intent in going to Winter Brain and to look for others to join your panel proposal. 

Short Courses are 1.5 hours with 3-4 speakers. Winter Brain will continue with the tradition of offering two short courses at the meeting, one in the area of basic neuroscience (such as new techniques), and the other in the area of clinical neuroscience. These are different from regular panel sessions in that short courses are primarily aimed at a general audience of neuroscientists, not specialists in the field, and allow ample time for questions and discussion.

Once a Panel or Short Course is accepted, speaker changes must be approved by the Program Chair. It is not preferred to include multiple presenters from the same institution in a panel unless there are special circumstances justified by the science. This must be explained in the submission.

Short Course & Panel Chairs* – You will create an overall session proposal. *If you are also speaking in the panel, you must also add yourself as a PRESENTER.

  • This proposal includes:
    • Overall panel title
    • Theme
    • Presenter names and emails
    • Overall panel abstract (2000 character limit)
    • 3-5 keywords that are highly relevant to the panel topic (to help facilitate review and avoid scheduling overlap)
    • Diversity Statement (Diversity takes many forms: race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, professional seniority, type of home institution, scientific background, financial background, educational background, etc. Diversity can also refer to multiple levels of analysis and including basic, clinical, and translational research approaches in a panel proposal)

Your participants will receive a notification to provide their presentation title and complete their financial disclosure once they have been added to the proposal. Your session proposal is not complete until all participants have submitted their title and disclosure.

Short Course & Panel Participants – Please login and submit your presentation title and full disclosure when notified. Please do not start a new panel submission.

Poster Submissions – Opening July 1, 2025

Poster abstracts must be submitted by the presenting author.

  • Title
  • Theme
  • Abstract (2000 character limit)
  • Co-authors full names, affiliations, emails
  • Diversity statement (Diversity takes many forms: race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, professional seniority, type of home institution, scientific background, financial background, educational background, etc. Diversity can also refer to multiple levels of analysis and including basic, clinical, and translational research approaches)
  • Financial disclosure

There will be a special poster session on Tuesday for the highest ranked poster abstracts by junior investigators. These posters may be eligible for awards given at the Wednesday banquet, therefore, please plan to attend the banquet. Please note: Poster Awards are different from the Poster Travel Fellows. Poster Awards are made based on judging during the Tuesday evening poster session, whereas Poster Travel Fellowships are made based on applications submitted on this site by the Travel Fellows deadline (September 12).

Winter Brain panels and posters are for educational purposes only. The use of any advertising, trade names, or product-group message association is prohibited; this rule will be strictly enforced.

Poster Awards – Eligibility

Eligible scientists must be within 10 years since receipt of Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent advanced degree, or be in a program leading to such a degree.

  • Extensions of this time limit will be considered for candidates with special circumstances (e.g. a documented leave-of-absence to care for family members, etc).
  • Previous winners of Poster Awards are eligible for an award in subsequent years, but will not receive more than one free registration.

What the Poster Award provides:

  • Poster Award Winners will receive a Certificate of Recognition from the Winter Brain
  • Winners receive one free registration to a future Winter Brain meeting (valid for 3 years)
  • Note that there is a cap on one free registration for a poster award, and two free registrations for any combination of Travel Fellowships and Poster Awards

SPECIAL NOTE
A person will be able to submit up to two panels and/or two posters (maximum four abstracts). A person submitting a poster must be the presenter of that poster, but there is no limit on the number of posters for which he or she is a contributing author.

Abstracts should include the full title and full author/presenter names and affiliations. Please be sure all special characters display correctly in the file, and refrain from using ALL CAPS or all lowercase letters. Abstract bodies should not exceed 2,000 characters (including spaces).

Questions? Please contact Winter Brain (info@winterbrain.org).