Welcome to the USF Health Research Day FAQ site!
This site provides essential information you need to prepare for a successful submission — from abstract guidelines and poster requirements to a general overview of judging criteria and presentation expectations.
These guidelines apply to participants who are presenting at the USF Health Research Day and are essential for submitting your work and preparing your posters to ensure your submission aligns with our standards and gives you the best opportunity for success.
2026 KEY DATES and DAY of EVENT AGENDA
- Abstract Submission: Abstract submission portal open October 28th, 2025 - January 9th, 2026. *Late submissions will not be accepted.
- Acceptance Letters: Will be sent out 1-2 weeks after the abstract submission registration closes.
- Poster Submission Deadline: February 6th, 2026 *Submissions that are late or not uploaded correctly will not be accepted.
- Event Date: March 6th, 2026
- Certificates: Will be sent 2-3 weeks post event
- 7:30 AM - 9:00 AM: Registration Check-in and Poster Set-up
- 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM: Welcome Address, Opening Remarks and Keynote Speaker Presentation (Oval Theater)
- 10:45 AM - 12:45 PM: Poster Judging Session (Ballroom)
- 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM: Lunch (2nd floor room 2708 & 2709)
- 12:15 PM - 1:00 PM: Residents and Fellows Poster Judging (Ballroom)
- 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Invited Oral Presentations (Oval Theater)
- 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Awards Ceremony (Oval Theater)
GENERAL INFORMATION
USF Health Research Day is the largest event celebrating health sciences research collaboration across all four USF Health colleges: Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, and Pharmacy, as well as with colleagues from other USF colleges. This event showcases hundreds of research posters, features invited oral presentations, and includes a keynote address delivered by a world-renowned expert in a specialized field.
USF Health Research Day generally takes place in the spring on the last Friday in February or the first Friday in March in the Marshall Student Center Grand Ballroom.
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
When the Call for Abstracts Submissions opens, please visit the events registration site to submit your abstract. If you do not already have an account, you will need to create one. Otherwise, simply log in to your existing account and follow the step-by-step instructions to complete your abstract submission.
You must use your USF email and be actively enrolled, as a Graduate student, resident, post-doc, fellow, staff or faculty member. Non-USF email addresses will not be considered.
Yes, we accept student types from undergraduates to fellows to participate in USF Health Research Day.
Yes, before you submit your abstract, you should notify your USF research mentor that you are submitting to present. Abstracts are discipline-specific, so it is recommended you work with your faculty mentor when constructing your abstract to ensure you follow best practices for your discipline.
The USF faculty member who supervises your research and interacts with you on a semi-regular basis is considered your mentor.
The abstract submission deadline typically falls on the 1st Friday in January following the winter break. All abstracts must be submitted through the event registration portal once the submission period is open, and the deadline is announced. Late submissions will not be accepted.
The proposal intake system is made of separate field text boxes, some with character limitations, so we would suggest drafting it in MS Word then copy and paste into the text boxes for efficiency. Your abstract title is not part of the 2,300 characters limit which includes spaces and punctuation.
Abstracts must include the following:
- Title of the research or project (no character limit)
- Introduction – 500 characters max
- Methods – 700 characters max
- Results – 700 characters max
- Conclusion – 400 characters max
- Abstracts should provide a summary of your project and allow people to quickly grasp the main purpose and ideas of your research project. Tables, charts, and graphs will not be accepted.
Abstracts must include the following:
- Title of the research or project
- Introduction – 500 characters
- Methods – 700 characters
- Results – 700 characters
- Conclusion – 400 characters
No, we only accept one proposal for each Lead Author. Students can be listed as additional authors on other proposals but cannot present more than one proposal.
Although there is no limit on the size of your research group, only one student can register, and that person must present.
One, the person that registered.
Acceptance letters will be emailed approximately 1 - 2 weeks after the submission process closes.
POSTER REQUIREMENTS and GUIDELINES
- We strongly recommend the use of our poster template.
- If you do not use the recommended USF template, the USF logo must be the most prominent logo as we are promoting USF research. Logos from collaborating institutions may be included, but the presentation’s focus must remain on USF research.
- Please note that the poster orientation layout must be in portrait format, 3ft (W) x 4ft (H).
- Posters in landscape format will not be accepted.
Posters that do not meet the below requirements will not be accepted.
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Poster template must be in portrait style format (vertical layout).
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Printed poster size must be 3ft (W) by 4ft (H) / 36" (W) x 48" (H).
- Digital poster must be uploaded in PDF format.
- Participants will be notified of their poster number a few days in advance of the event by email and are responsible for finding their poster spot, securing their poster to the provided poster board.
- Poster set-up will be available on the morning of the event from 7:30am – 9:00am.
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Velcro stickers will be provided to hang-up posters.
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Participants are responsible for removing their poster at the end of their session or by 4:15pm.
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Students presenting are responsible for printing their own poster and for the cost of the printing.
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Posters must be in a Portrait layout (vertical)format, 3 ft. wide x 4 ft. high / formatted 36" (W) x 48" (H).
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Local print shops: Pro-Copy and USF Print Shop, USF Library printers.
- It is recommended that students print their posters at least 48 hours in advance. This allows for alternate arrangements should the selected printer have technical issues.
JUDGING GUIDLINES
USF faculty members serve as judges for the poster sessions. Judges will review the posters and complete a score sheet based on a predefined set of criteria. There are two phases to the judging process:
Phase 1 - Pre-judging: A minimum of 2 judges will pre-judge the digital version of the poster you uploaded to the registration site.
Phase 2 - LIVE judging day of the event: The live judging is conducted by at least 1 judge depending on award eligibility.
*If the poster you uploaded during registration timeframe differs significantly from the printed version presented at the event, these changes are allowable. However, if the changes are substantial, we recommend that presenters clearly explain the updates to the judges during the live judging session.
Posters will be evaluated on the following:
- Background/Objectives (Pre-judged)
- Methods/Approach (Pre-judged)
- Results/Conclusion (Pre-judged)
- Visual Presentation (Pre-judged)
- Potential future direction of the research (Live judged)
- Oral Presentation / Ability to answer questions (Live judged)
- Judging Rubric
- Dress code: Casual business attire.
- Rehearse your poster presentation in advance.
- Practice summarizing your research clearly and focusing on key points.
- Be prepared to answer questions from judges and attendees.
- Speak clearly, calmly, confidently and with a smile.
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