Abstract Submission

Submit an Abstract

We are delighted to announce the Call for Abstracts for the 1st Annual Maryland Spring Stem Cell Symposium and Workshop. This Maryland-wide event will bring together prominent investigators in stem cells, bioengineering, and regenerative medicine. It will take place on May 17, 2024, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. This symposium will showcase the exciting stem cell-based basic and translational research being conducted in Maryland and close environs, focusing on the contributions of trainees and junior faculty. Another aim of the symposium is to provide networking opportunities to foster collaborations among researchers from various Maryland institutions that are geographically separated.

We hope this will be the first of a series of symposia that will showcase the research funded by the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF). MSCRF, established in 2006 by the Maryland General Assembly and the Governor, is the second largest fund nationwide to support stem cell and regenerative medicine research and its commercialization with the goal of accelerating cures and improving human lives.

The symposium will feature a Keynote Lecture by Curt I. Civin, MD, Philip A. Zaffere Distinguished Professor of Regenerative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, along with posters and five oral sessions. We encourage abstract submissions related to all aspects of stem cells, including all lineages and applications of stem and progenitor cells.

Based on the abstracts received, we will develop five one-hour sessions that will open with a 15-minute presentation from an invited expert in that area of stem cell research. This will be followed by three workshop-style presentations by junior investigators and trainees selected based on the submitted abstracts. Each presenter will be designated an eight-minute presentation slot, followed by a seven-minute question period. Principal investigators of oral presenters will be considered to chair the sessions.

Those who submit abstracts but are not selected for talks will be invited to present posters, which will be on display throughout the event. We will conclude this symposium with highlights from the presented work and the world. Following the symposium, there will be a two-hour networking event.

We plan to give prizes for the top-rated oral presentation(s) and the top-rated poster(s).

Important Deadlines:

Abstract Submission Deadline (EXTENDED): April 24, 2024
Notification for Oral Presentations: May 1, 2024
Notification of Awards will be announced at the Closing Ceremony

Junior investigators and trainees include all researchers who do not have a major grant, such as an NIH R01 or equivalent (they may have NIH R21, MSCRF, or other equivalent grants), are under 45 years old, and are maximally assistant professors.