If you have ever been a member, submitted an abstract, or attended an ASHG meeting, you already have an ASHG portal account and your username is your email address. If this is your first time interacting with ASHG, you will have the option to create an ASHG portal account regardless of your membership status.

Review the “Important Notes” at the beginning of the abstract page. Review the required statements and confirm you agree with ASHG’s policies and procedures.

ASHG Procedures

• Once accepted, abstracts will be published online by October 5, 2020 and will be citable from the Annual Meeting website.
• Abstract will be published as submitted.
• After you submit your abstract, you may revise or withdraw (delete) your abstract until September 21, 2020 at 8am (Eastern Time).
• The Program Committee will review abstracts in September and confirmation will be sent in early October.

Each statement below is an ASHG policy that must be confirmed.

• I have read, understand, and agree to the Abstract Submission Rules and Meeting Policies, including Code of Conduct.
• I understand that in submitting an abstract, I am authorizing ASHG to contact me about its Annual Meeting, including the status of my abstract.
• I will submit only one abstract as first author.
• I understand that as first author, I must notify all authors of any and all correspondence relating to this abstract submission.
• I confirm that each co-author has been informed of this abstract submission and has agreed to all information as it was submitted.
• If my abstract is accepted, I understand that 1.) I must include a conflict of interest slide as part of my presentation and 2.) Per CME guidelines, my slides may be reviewed by a member of the Program Committee in advance of the presentation date. NOTE: Once slides are reviewed they cannot be changed.
  

• The first (presenting) author cannot be the first author of another abstract being submitted.
• Required information: first and last name, , institution, department, institution city, institution state, institution country, mobile number, email address, and additional information questions.
• incorrect, then you must withdraw your abstract, update your name in the ASHG portal, and submit a new abstract by September 18, 2020. If the first author has changed, then withdraw the abstract and ask the new first author to log in and submit a new abstract by September 18, 2020.
• Enter the address and affiliation information in upper and lowercase as it should be published. Do not use special characters in the name or address fields. If applicable, include international dialing codes for phone numbers.
• Address changes you enter will not affect your membership address.
  

You will be asked to answer the following required questions:

1. Has the work outlined in this abstract been published elsewhere prior to September 18, 2020?
2. Has the work outlined in this abstract been accepted prior to a journal or other conference prior to September 18, 2020?

If the abstract has been published or accepted for publication elsewhere (prior to the submission deadline of September 18) you will be required to answer some additional questions such as whether new data will be presented.

Results of studies that have been published or are accepted for publication elsewhere prior to the submission deadline of September 18, 2020, will be scored accordingly. Authors should indicate whether new data will be presented in the body of the abstract.

There is also a mandatory question asked regarding funding:

• Do you receive external funding for your work?

Please answer the funding related questions, if applicable, regarding your primary source of external funding.

This information helps ASHG highlight the important role of public and private funders in support of science and health and to better communicate the value of this funding to the public.

• You should disclose any relationship that may bias your presentation or that, if known, could convey the perception of bias. The intent of this disclosure is not to prevent a speaker from making a presentation, but rather to allow the listener to be fully knowledgeable in evaluating the information being presented. If the first (presenting) author feels that such a relationship exists, click “Add Item” so a notation may be made in the program with the nature of the relationship and the associated entity. After answering “Add Item,” use the spaces provided to indicate the name(s) and relationship(s) for each entity listed.
• Disclosures only need to be reported for the presenting author.
• If you have nothing to disclose please select the checkbox, “I have nothing to disclose.”
  

• Enter the names of your coworkers by clicking “add item” below the table that appears on the page.
• Required information: first and last name, email address, institution.
• Tip: if multiple authors have the same affiliation(s), copy and paste the text for each additional author to save time.
• The first author’s name on a submitted abstract cannot be changed. If your name is incorrect, then you must withdraw your abstract, update your name in the ASHG portal, and submit a new abstract by September 18, 2020. If the first author has changed, then withdraw the abstract and ask the new first author to log in and submit a new abstract by September 18, 2020.
• Enter the institutional affiliation information using upper and lowercase as it should be published.
• Add all authors in the order they should appear. You may re-order the co-authors by dragging the using the four-way arrow (✥) icon that appears in the table up and down on each row.
• Do not enter special codes for bold, italic, or underline.
• A maximum of thirty (30) authors can be listed. Co-first and co-last authors are not permitted on ASHG abstracts.
• Note: If you wish to cite a group or consortium as a co-author, click the “Add Item” button, then enter the group/consortium. Names of individual authors should not be entered here. A group or consortium cannot be cited as the sole (i.e., first/presenting) author on an abstract.You may re-order the co-authors by dragging the using the four-way arrow (✥) icon that appears in the table up and down on each row.
• ASHG does not permit co-first author designations.
  

• You will be asked to select one main topic most appropriate for your abstract. Please note, abstracts not related to the novel coronavirus will not be considered for programming.
• You will also be asked to select a subtopic. These fields are required. Use our list of topic categories to choose the appropriate category.
• You will be asked to enter up to five (5) keyword codes in order of importance. Leave blank any fields not used.
  • To view and select codes during the submission process, click, “View the full list.”
  • Enter the keyword codes by using the drop boxes provided. Keyword codes aid in the review process and placement of the abstract in a session, if applicable.
  • A minimum of one (1) keyword is required.
    

• Abstract Title:
  • Title should begin with a capital letter and should have a period at the end (unless you have other punctuation, such as a question mark). Do not type your title in all caps. Maximum 255 characters. Abstracts with titles in all caps may not be reviewed.
  • Titles should follow sentence case format: Human genetics is great: Analysis of the ASHG gene confirms enormous potential of the field.
  • Only use capital letters to begin your title and only use additional capital letters as appropriate.  (e.g., Genome-wide linkage analysis using SNP genotyping set.; or Evidence of the XYZ mutation found in cancer patients with normal FISH tests.)
    • For gene/protein designations, please follow the guidelines set by The American Journal of Human Genetics: Human gene names and loci should be written in italicized capital letters and Arabic numerals. Protein product names should not be italicized.
  • There is a limit of 255 characters (including spaces) for title length
  • To insert special characters or symbols you must prepare your title using a program that includes the special characters necessary, then copy and paste your title into a word processing program with .txt file capability.
    • Copy the text from Notepad/TextEdit and paste into the title box. Your special characters should be included.

  Abstract Text:

  • You are allotted 2,600 characters, including spaces, for the body of your abstract. Title, author, and institutional data are not included in the character limit. The abstract submission program will not allow submission if you exceed the maximum number of characters. Characters will be counted as you enter your abstract text. Make sure your abstract adheres to the style guide outlined below.
  • Enter text using upper and lowercase as it should be published.
  • To enter your abstract text, begin typing in the Abstract Text box. You may include special characters and or symbols by cutting and pasting from a word processing program.
  • Format text (bold, italics, etc.) by using the buttons for bold and italics, located above the Abstract Text box.

  Table (if needed)

  • Tables are discouraged due to limited space. If you add a table, it will count 350 characters towards the character limit in your abstract’s text. The submission form will not account for this; be sure your abstract’s character count is <2.250 if you submit a table. Tables are published as formatted upon submission. Please submit as a word processor software file or PDF file.
    • To include a table, attach a file in the “Table (if needed)” field as a Microsoft Word, similar word processing software file, or PDF file.
      

You will receive an immediate, on-screen reminder, alerting you to press “ok” to submit your abstract. Once you click, “ok” you will receive an immediate onscreen confirmation of receipt, followed by a confirmation email. Please retain this document for your records, as you will need it when returning to the submission site. You may return to the submission site to make any edits before the submission deadline. You should also make a note of your username and password.

Reminder: ASHG will print your abstract exactly as it appears in your submission. We will not edit for grammar or punctuation, nor will we edit for proper designation of genes, proteins, chromosomes, or other entities. You are solely responsible for the accuracy of your abstract. Please use the “Prev” button to go back and make edits.  If you feel your submission is accurate please click, “Save and Finalize” button.

Do not use your browser’s “back” button to review your answers before submitting; use the “prev” and “next” buttons on the bottom of each page. Abstracts are published exactly as submitted; please review them carefully before finalizing your submission.

To edit your abstract after submission,

1. Click “All” under “My Submissions” on the lefthand side bar,
2. Select “Edit” on the row listing the title of your abstract

To withdraw an abstract, email meetings@ashg.org with your name, email, and the title of your abstract.

Note: After September 21 (by 8:00 am U.S. Eastern Time), abstracts cannot be revised or withdrawn. If accepted by the Program Committee, abstracts will be presented in the ASHG virtual platform on October 28 in the 5:30-7:00 pm, Late-Breaking Abstract session, and available as a searchable abstract on the meeting website.