2008 Call for Abstracts

All abstract submissions for the 50th ASH Annual Meeting must be made electronically through the ASH online abstract submission system.

The abstract-submission deadline of August 21, 2008, has now passed. Late-breaking abstracts will be accepted online between October 22 and October 29, 2008.

• Eligibility
• Responsibilities of the Presenting Author
• Authors’ Consent and Waiver of Claims
• General Guidelines
• How to Request Special Consideration
• Abstract Review and Selection Process
• Acceptance/Rejection Notification
• Abstract Withdrawal
• Publication in the Abstracts Issue of Blood
• Late-Breaking Abstracts
• Abstract Submission Policies
• How to Submit an Abstract
• Preparing an Abstract for Submission
• Travel Awards
• Merit Awards
• Electronic Signature
• Sample Abstract
• Questions?
• ASH Annual Meeting Registration and Housing

Eligibility

To submit an abstract, the following criteria must be met:

• At least one of the authors must be an ASH member who is current in payment of his/her membership dues.
  
  
• If none of the abstract authors are ASH members, the abstract must be sponsored by a current ASH member or it will not be reviewed. ASH members are urged to use their judgment in restricting sponsorship to a reasonable number of abstracts, keeping in mind that they are endorsing the authenticity and quality of each abstract that they sponsor.
  
  
• Research and/or studies must fit into one of the ASH 2008 Abstract Review Categories.
  
  
• Data published either online or in print by August 21 or to be presented at the ASH Friday Satellite Symposia will generally not be eligible for consideration. Authors must request Special Consideration if the abstract is a minor extension (10 percent) of published work or if the author has a reason to believe that the data will be published either online or in print or presented at a major meeting prior to the ASH annual meeting.

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Responsibilities of the Presenting Author

• The first author listed for each abstract serves as the presenting author and as the primary contact for all correspondence regarding the abstract, unless otherwise specified under the Questions? section of the online abstract submission system.
  
  
• The presenting author must be one of the co-authors listed on the submitted abstract.
  
  
• The presenting author is responsible for the following:
  
  
  • Ensuring that all authors have read the abstract and agreed to be co-authors. Failure to get approval from all authors will result in rejection of the abstract.
    
    
  • Notifying all co-authors of any additions, deletions, and changes to the program, as may be communicated by ASH.
    
    
  • Obtaining all the conflict of interest disclosure and copyright transfer information from co-authors.
    
    
  • Forwarding all correspondence to all co-authors, including the ASH policies and guidelines, and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Standards for Commercial Support for Continuing Medical Education (CME).

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Authors’ Consent and Waiver of Claims

Each abstract author agrees and certifies that he or she:

• has read all rules and agrees to be bound by them,
  
  
• is responsible for submission of the abstract in accordance with the rules, and
  
  
• waives any and all claims against ASH and any reviewer arising out of or relating to the abstract submission and review process, including but not limited to peer review and grading of abstracts.

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General Guidelines

• The abstract must address scientific questions, detailed clinical observations, or contain primary scientific data.
  
  
• Abstracts submitted to ASH are considered embargoed from the time of submission. This means that the data in the abstract cannot be submitted to other meetings and/or publishers once submitted for the ASH annual meeting.
  
  
• All research and studies that involve human and animal subjects reported in submitted abstracts must comply with the guiding principles for experimental procedures found in the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association.
  
  
• Data from the long-term follow-up of previously presented clinical trials may be submitted only if significant new information can be shown. In this case, please ask for Special Consideration.
  
  
• Interim analysis of a prospective randomized clinical trial will be considered only if it is performed as planned in the original protocol and is statistically valid. If your abstract involves interim analysis, explain the details of your study in the text box provided under the submission information section in the online abstract submission system.
  
  
• Failure of authors to request special consideration for an abstract including content that has been published or presented at a major meeting prior to the ASH annual meeting will result in exclusion from the program.
  
  
• No revisions can be made after the abstract submission deadline.
  
  
• Abstracts generally may not be withdrawn once submitted. If you prefer that your abstract be withdrawn if not accepted for presentation at the ASH Annual Meeting, you must indicate so in the online abstract submission system.
  
  
• Presentation at the annual meeting must reflect the abstract. In particular, the abstract title, authorship, and scientific content of the presentation at the annual meeting must match that of the submitted abstract.
  
  

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How to Request Special Consideration

Special consideration may be requested by explaining the special circumstances in the text box provided during online abstract submission.

If special consideration is requested for presentation of previously published data, ASH reserves the right to exclude the abstract from the program.

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Abstract Review and Selection Process

• After the submission deadline has passed, all completed abstracts will be made available to the ASH Abstract Reviewers for a blinded review and scoring, and the final decisions will be made by the Program Committee in mid-September.
  
  
• Abstracts will be evaluated solely on their scientific merits.
  
  
• "Incomplete" abstracts will not be reviewed.
  
  
• The same study should not be submitted as multiple abstracts. Abstracts that appear as more than one version of a single study will be rejected.
  
  
• Abstracts will be peer-reviewed according to the subject categories. During online submission, authors must select one abstract review category. Submitters will be able to use the list of this year’s abstract review categories, which provides detailed descriptions of each category, to assist you in selecting the correct abstract classification. If you are unsure of which category to select for your abstract, choose the category that is the closest fit. During the review process, the abstract may be recategorized by the reviewers or by the Program Committee to a more suitable category.
  
  
• All abstracts submitted will be considered eligible for one presentation: plenary, oral (simultaneous session), or poster.
  
  
  • The Plenary Session features the top submitted abstracts. These are formal oral presentations, each of which is followed by a brief discussion. An ASH member selected by the Program Committee will give a brief introduction to the abstract.
    
    
  • Simultaneous Sessions are formal oral presentations, followed by a brief discussion.
    
    
  • Poster Sessions allow the viewing of a poster illustration of the abstract. Authors are expected to post and remove their posters at the designated times and to be present at their posters to answer questions during poster presentation times.

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Acceptance/Rejection Notification

• Notification regarding acceptance or rejection of abstracts will be sent to the presenting author in late September by e-mail; consequently, an accurate e-mail address is critical. If you have not received an e-mail notification by September 30, 2008, contact ASHabstracts@hematology.org.
  
  
• The decision of the ASH Program Committee regarding acceptance and presentation of abstracts is final.

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Abstract Withdrawal

• Once an abstract is accepted, a written request must be submitted by October 5, 2008, to ASHabstracts@hematology.org, if the first author decides to withdraw the abstract for any reason. Abstract withdrawal requests received after the deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
  
  
• ASH reserves the right to withdraw abstracts that are in violation of the Society’s policies and guidelines, such as those that have been previously published or presented, have been deemed scientifically unsound, or have been found to include inaccurate data, etc.

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Publication in the Abstracts Issue of Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology

• All abstracts accepted for presentation (plenary, oral, or poster) at the ASH Annual Meeting are published in a special print and online issue of Blood, ASH's official journal. This special print issue of Blood is mailed to all ASH members in good standing, non-member Blood subscribers, and non-members who have preregistered for the ASH annual meeting.
  
  
• Abstracts not selected for presentation will be published online only on the Blood Abstracts Web site (as publication-only abstracts). If an author does not want the abstract published if it is not accepted for presentation, he/she must indicate that during submission.
  
  
• ASH reserves the right not to publish abstracts that do not fit into any of the review categories, abstracts that inappropriately promote commercial interests, abstracts that are judged unethical, poorly written, or scientifically unsound, or abstracts considered inappropriate for publication for other reasons as determined by the Program Committee.

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Late-Breaking Abstracts

Recognizing that the results of some top-quality research may not be available by the general abstract submission deadline, the ASH Program Committee offers an option for late-breaking abstracts. The site will open October 22 and will close October 29, 2008. Late-breaking abstracts will undergo regular peer-review evaluation. Only six abstracts will be accepted. The accepted abstracts will only be published online and will not be part of the special Abstract supplement to Blood. Abstracts not accepted will not be published in any form.

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Abstract Submission Policies

1. Conflict-of-Interest disclosure policy
   
   
   • ASH is committed to ensuring the integrity of its scientific, educational, and research programs. The ASH Conflict-of-Interest Policy requires disclosure of any financial or other interest that might be construed as resulting in an actual, potential, or apparent conflict.
     
     
   • ASH abides by rules formulated by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), which requires that you disclose any relevant financial relationship you or your spouse/partner have had within the past 12 months. For this purpose, "relevant financial relationships" are those from which you have received or may receive financial benefit and which are related to the continuing medical dducation (CME) content.
     
     
   • As a CME provider accredited by the ACCME, ASH must ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all presentations at the ASH Annual Meeting.
     
     
   • By completing this section of the online abstract submission, you agree that you have read the ASH Conflict-of-Interest Policy and you understand and support its intent.
     
     
   • This policy is not intended to prevent a presentation. It is merely intended to openly identify potential conflicts so audience members may form their own judgments about the presentation with a full disclosure of the facts.
     
     
   • Appropriate disclosure will be stated in the special abstract issue of Blood (the Abstracts issue). Abstracts will not be considered for the program without completion of disclosure information for all of the authors.

   Author responsibility regarding Conflict-of-Interest disclosure

   • The first author is responsible for obtaining disclosure information from all co-authors.
     
     
   • All authors and co-authors are required to provide any relevant information concerning personal or professional circumstances and relationships that might reasonably be expected to affect the author’s view on the presentation.
     
     
   • This includes relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or other corporations whose products or services are related to the subject matter of the presentation topic. If no relevant relationships exist, this must be stated as well.

   When to Disclose

   Please disclose any relationships or circumstances that might affect or appear to affect the research presented. These relationships include you or any individual with whom you directly share income.

   What to Disclose

   You must disclose the relationship and state the name of the company for each of the following areas in which you maintain a relationship. Exact dollar amounts are not necessary. You will have the option to note that there is no information to disclose or to provide disclosure information pertinent to the abstract. Disclosed information pertinent to the abstract may include the following areas:

   • Employment
     
     
   • Consultancy
     
     
   • Ownership interests (including stock options) in a start-up company, the stock of which is not publicly traded
     
     
   • Ownership interest (including stock options, but excluding indirect investments through mutual funds and the like) in a publicly traded company
     
     
   • Research funding
     
     
   • Honoraria directly received from an entity
     
     
   • Patents and royalties
     
     
   • Paid expert testimony
     
     
   • Membership on an entity’s board of directors, speakers bureau, or advisory committees
     
     
   • Any other financial relationship
     
     
   • You will be required to note whether your presentation will include discussion of off-label use of products. If so, you must provide a brief explanation.
     
     
   • If you are providing recommendations involving clinical medicine, they will be based on evidence that is accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for their indication and contraindications in the care of patients. All scientific research referred to in support of a patient-care recommendation will conform to generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.
     
     
   • The content of the information with which you are involved will promote quality in health care or advancements in science, and will not promote a specific proprietary business interest or a commercial interest. Content for this publication will be well-balanced and unbiased.
     
     
   • If you have been trained or utilized by a commercial entity or its agents as a speaker (e.g., speakers bureau) for any commercial interest, the promotional aspects of that presentation will not be included in any way with the activity.
     
     
2. Embargo Policy
   
   
   • Abstracts submitted to the ASH Annual Meeting are considered embargoed from the time of submission.
     
     
   • For the research and study to be eligible for presentation at the ASH annual meeting, information contained in the abstract, as well as additional data and information to be presented about the research and/or study at the annual meeting, may not be made public before the abstract has been published/presented at the ASH annual meeting.
     
     
   • Prior to the embargo being lifted, the first author, co-authors, and sponsor of the abstract must abide by the following policies:
     
     
     1. Not to publish the information or provide it to others who may publish it.
        
        
     2. Not to release the research/study to news media.
        
        
     3. Not to use the information for trading in the securities of any issuer or provide it to others who may use it for securities-trading purposes.
        
        
   • If the policy is violated, the abstract may be automatically withdrawn from presentation at the ASH annual meeting and from publication in print and online.

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How to Submit an Abstract

The Abstract site is open June 23 - August 21, 2008.

• All abstracts must be submitted by August 21, 2008, at 11:59 p.m., Pacific Standard Time. Submissions that are incomplete by the deadline will be rejected.
  
  
• Abstracts must be submitted online through the official online abstract submission system. E-mails and word processing files not submitted through the site will not be accepted.
  
  
• There is a $60 nonrefundable handling fee for submitting an abstract. Payment must be made by credit card; Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted. Purchase orders and checks will not be accepted. The abstract submission fee does not include registration for the annual meeting; therefore, all authors planning to attend the ASH annual meeting must register.
  
  
• Electronic submission works optimally with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6+, Modzilla Firefox 1.5+, and Netscape Navigator 7.7+. Safari or MAC OS 10.3/10.4 are supported, but their use is discouraged, since not all features would be available. The online abstract submission system will provide links so that you can download the free browser software.
  
  
• Please check the appropriate box during submission if this marks your first time that you are submitting an abstract for the ASH annual meeting.
  
  
• Once you have submitted the title page information, a draft of your abstract will be saved and you will be able to  return to edit and update it from anywhere with Internet access. You will receive an e-mail providing a link to your submission.
  
  
• Abstracts cannot be submitted and will not be reviewed without proper payment and completion of the "Submission Information" and "Disclosure" sections of the online abstract submission program.
  
  
• Any technical questions regarding the submission process should be directed to ash@confex.com.

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Preparing an Abstract for Submission

Contact Information

• Your name, degree, institution, address, phone number, and e-mail address must be provided. As the corresponding author, you will receive all future correspondence from ASH.
  
  
• The corresponding author should be the first author (presenter) of the abstract, unless otherwise during submission.
  
  
• If none of the abstract authors is an ASH member, the program will automatically print "(Sponsored by ____)" after the name of the last author followed by the name of the ASH member who is sponsoring the abstract.

Co-Authors
Names of co-authors and institutions must be provided. The program will automatically place an asterisk (*) after the name of each non-member author.

Copyright Policy
All authors must assign copyright of the abstract to ASH, unless one of the authors is a U.S. Federal employee.

Abstract Title

• The abstract title should be brief, clearly indicating the nature of the abstract.
  
  
• The abstract title must be in upper case. Capitalize all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions (i.e., as, because, although). Except for the first word of the title, lowercase all articles, coordinate conjunctions (i.e., and, or, nor), and prepositions, regardless of length. Also, lowercase "to" in an infinitive.
  
  
• Additionally, keep letters lowercase if the lowercase letters have a specific meaning, such as pH or NaCl.
  
  
• Do not put a period at the end of the title.

Use of Product Names

• Non-proprietary (generic/scientific) names should be used.
  
  
• If necessary, you may include a proprietary name in parentheses directly following the generic name after its first mention in the body of the abstract. ASH reserves the right to replace proprietary names with genetic names to adhere to this policy.

Abbreviations

• Use standard abbreviations. Place abbreviations in parentheses immediately after the first mention of a term or phrase; the abbreviation can then be used throughout the abstract.
  
  
• Do not abbreviate compounds in the title of the abstract.

Abstract Body, Tables, and Figures

• Abstracts submitted for the 50th ASH Annual Meeting are published in a special November 16 issue of Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology. Abstracts will be typeset from the text submitted by the author without copy editorial changes. It is the responsibility of the author to proofread the abstract carefully.
  
  
• The entire body of the abstract, including text and tables/figures must not exceed 3,800 characters. Title, authors’ names, and affiliations are counted separately.
  
  
• Do not use bold type or underline formatting. Italic type is acceptable.
  
  
• The text must be a single paragraph and you do not need to indent the first line.
  
  
• Special Greek and mathematical symbols are available in a character map within the program.
  
  
• Use numerals to indicate numbers, except when beginning sentences.
  
  
• The first letter of the name of a proprietary drug should be capitalized; generic names are preferred and should be written without capitals.
  
  
• Simple tables and graphs may be included. The online abstract submission system provides step-by-step instructions on inserting tables and graphs in the preferred HTML format.
  
  
• Any references should be noted as citations within the text and not as footnotes at the end.

Selection of Abstract Review Category

• Please refer to the list of this year’s abstract review categories, which provides detailed descriptions of each category, to assist you in selecting the correct abstract classification.
  
  
• Be sure to select from the program’s drop-down menu the review category that best describes your abstract.
  
  
• The abstract will be reviewed for category assignment and may be reassigned if necessary.

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Travel Awards

Undergraduate students, medical students, graduate students, resident physicians, and post-doctoral (MD or PhD) fellows who are both first author and presenter of the abstract are eligible for an ASH Travel Award.

ASH Travel Awards of $500 are granted to selected individuals in conjunction with the ASH annual meeting. Travel Awards are granted on the basis of merit to those who have demonstrated a financial need for travel support. They are intended to help defray annual meeting travel costs for abstract presenters who demonstrate a need for financial assistance.

How to Apply for a Travel Award:

• To apply for a Travel Award, check the appropriate box regarding Travel and Merit Award applicants in the online abstract submission system.
  
  
• In order to complete your Travel Award application, you must submit a letter requesting travel support from your training program director.
  
  
• Your letter must be typed on your institution’s letterhead, signed by your training program director, saved in PDF format, and uploaded into the online abstract submission system.
  
  
• Please include the following items in your letter:
  
  
  • Identify the need for a travel award
    
    
  • Your abstract title
    
    
  • Author name (this is the presenting/contact author)
    
    
  • Filename of the electronic submission

If applying for a Travel Award, authors must upload the required request letter into the program in order to complete abstract submission. The deadline for receipt of the Travel Award request letter is, therefore, August 21, 2008. There will be no exceptions.

Travel Award Notifications:
Travel Award applicants will be notified as to whether or not they received an award by late October. Please contact ASH Headquarters if you have not heard about the status of your award by November 1.

How to Receive Your Travel Award:
Travel Awards must be picked up on site at the ASH annual meeting in San Francisco, CA. Winners must go to the Membership Desk in the Moscone Convention Center, provide a photo ID, and sign for receipt of the award. Checks that are not picked up on site at the ASH Annual Meeting will be voided.

Authors who do not have the required Travel Award request letter may still be considered for the ASH Merit Award, as long as the appropriate box is checked during submission.

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Merit Awards

ASH Merit Awards are granted without regard to need in the categories of undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, and post-doctoral (MDor PhD) fellow to the first author and presenter of the highest scoring abstract in each category.

Merit Award winners receive a $500 honorarium plus annual meeting travel reimbursement (coach airfare and two nights' hotel accommodations).

ASH also offers a Special Marit Award - the Mary Rodes Gibson Memorial Award in Hemostasis & Thrombosis
This annual award shall be granted to a trainee (undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, or post-doctoral [MD or PhD] fellow) who is the first author and presenter of the highest scoring abstract submitted in the field of hemostasis and thrombosis.

The recipient of the award shall receive a $5,000 grant and a $1,000 allowance for travel and expenses to the ASH annual meeting.

This annual award is made possible by the Mary Rodes Gibson Hemostasis-Thrombosis Foundation to continue the legacy of Mary Rodes Gibson who suffered from severe, type 3 von Willebrand disease.

How to Apply for a Merit Award:
An individual is automatically considered for a Merit Award if one of the categories of eligibility boxes is checked in section on Travel and Merit Award applicants in the online abstract submission system. The Merit Awards are not based on financial need; therefore, no letter is required in order to apply.

Merit Award Notifications:
Merit Award applicants will be notified as to whether or not they received an award by late October. Please contact ASH Headquarters if you have not heard about the status of your award by November 1.

How to Receive Your Merit Award:
Merit Awards will be distributed to winners at the time of their respective presentations during the ASH annual meeting in San Francisco, CA.

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Electronic Signature

Completion of all required disclosure information in the online abstract submission system serves as an agreement and is accepted in lieu of a faxed signature. It certifies the ASH abstract submitter's understanding of the rules for participation contained in the online abstract submission program, including:

1. All authors approve of submitting this work for presentation and publication;
   
   
2. The author(s) transfer(s) all copyright ownership of the named abstract to the American Society of Hematology (except when one or more authors are US Government employees);
   
   
3. All authors have read the ASH Abstract Conflict-of-Interest Policy and have acted in accordance with that policy;
   
   
4. The author(s) agree(s) to materially confine the presentations to information in the abstract, if accepted for presentation. If an author has more than one abstract accepted, each presentation will be materially confined to the information in the abstract selected for the specific session;
   
   
5. The presenting author will be available to present the abstract if selected for the program. The author(s) will immediately notify ASH if the presenting author must be changed; and
   
   
6. The data in the abstract are not expected to be published either online or in print by August 21 nor will they be materially presented at another major meeting or at Friday Satellite Symposia prior to the ASH annual meeting.

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Sample Abstract

A sample abstract is provided for your reference below.

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Questions?

Send related correspondence and questions regarding abstract submissions or notifications to ASHabstracts@hematology.org.

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ASH Annual Meeting Registration and Housing

• Please note that submitting an abstract does not register you for the ASH annual meeting.
  
  
• To register, you must complete and return an Attendee Registration Form or register online through the ASH Web site.
  
  
• For ASH members, Early-Bird Registration will be available July 22-August 4. During this time, ASH members can access the online meeting registration and hotel reservation program before it is open to the general public.
  
  
• Please note that Early-Bird Registration is available online only and you must register for the annual meeting before making your hotel reservations.
  
  
• The Preliminary Program brochure, which includes registration, hotel reservation forms, and program information, will be mailed to ASH members in July.
  
  
• Non-members will be able to find all relevant Annual Meeting information on the ASH Web site and can access the online registration and hotel reservation program beginning August 5, 2008.

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