USASP Poster Abstracts

Poster Abstract Submission Instructions

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Presentation Formats:  Poster abstracts will be presented in person 
Topics:  Submissions related to pain research (basic science, translational, and clinical), pain management, and advocacy are encouraged. 

 

Deadline for 2027 abstract submissions: Monday, November 9, 2026 at 11:59 PM EASTERN

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Submission Information

• Length of abstract: 250 words max

• Each person may serve as the primary contact/presenting author on only ONE abstract submission. You may be listed as a co-author on additional abstracts, but you may submit and present only one poster.

• The presenting author will be the primary contact for the submission.

• Abstracts will be published in the Journal of Pain as a supplement. 

• Members and non-members are eligible to submit abstracts. 

• Abstracts of unpublished work at the time of submission are strongly preferred. 

• Trainees, students, and postdoctoral fellows are eligible to have their abstracts reviewed for poster awards and travel awards.

 

Note: You will be able to edit your submission until November 9, 2026 at 11:59 PM EASTERN. Choose "login" & sign in if you have an account already or "reset your password" to create a new login. Your confirmation email will also include a link to edit your submission.

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Formatting

• Double-check the spelling of all author names and make sure ALL authors are included.

• Only the presenting author's affiliations should be included at the end of the author list on your abstract. This is due to space limitations for publication in the Journal of Pain.

• Present the complete name of the presenting author’s affiliation. For example, University of Maryland (good!) vs. UMD (do not use).

  • Simplify the affiliation to include only the institution's/organization's name and not the department. For example, University of Maryland (good!) vs. University of Maryland, College of Medicine (do not use).

• The abstract should be written all in one fluid paragraph without subheadings or indentations. For example, DO NOT include "Background", "Methods", "Results", "Discussion", and/or other headers in your abstract.

• No figures or tables are permitted.

• Capitalize each word in the title; abbreviations are not permitted. For example, "Pain and Mood Outcomes Among Children with Sickle Cell Disease" (good!) vs. "Pain and mood outcomes among children with SCD" (do not use).

• If possible, please avoid using special characters in the text. For example, "age mean, SD= 39.43, 12.58" (good!) vs. "mean age§SD=39.43§12.58" (do not use).

• Do not include numbered references/bibliography. Authors who wish to cite specific research may do so parenthetically, such as (Palermo, 2019).

• Funded sources may be included at the end of the abstract. Example - Funding: R01AGO4891.

 

Note: You'll need to insert text and Word document versions of your full abstract information, including title, author list, presenting author's affiliation, abstract body, and funding (if applicable).

 

Travel Award Application

For this award, a Trainee/Young Investigator is someone who:

• Is still completing their final degree or professional training (e.g., currently enrolled in a MD/DO, PhD, RN program); or

• Completed their final degree within the past 5 years and is continuing their training (e.g., currently in a clinical or research post-bac/post-Master's/post-doctoral fellowship).

 

A limited number of travel awards are available to help Trainee/Young Investigators attend the conference and present their research as a poster.

The Scientific Program Committee will select recipients for one of two awards:

• Full Travel Award: Covers trainee registration, up to 3 nights of shared hotel accommodations (double occupancy with another award recipient), and eligible travel costs, including airfare, mileage, and ground transportation.

• Partial Travel Award: There are two types of partial travel awards. One covers trainee registration + limited travel expenses. The other covers trainee registration only.

 

Travel expenses will be reimbursed after the meeting. Recipients must submit a USASP Reimbursement Form and copies of all required receipts.

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Criteria:

Travel awards are limited to applicants who meet ALL of the following criteria:

• Applicant must be a trainee/young investigator as defined above.

• Must be listed as the presenting author on the poster abstract accepted for presentation at the conference

• Only one travel award will be awarded per research abstract/poster.

• The Scientific Program Committee will review applications on the apparent quality, novelty, and potential impact of the abstract submitted as well as financial need among applicants.

  • In order to determine financial need, applicants will be asked to report potential sources of funding for their travel should they not be selected for the Travel Award. This report should include sources of funding including their own grants (e.g., F32), their mentor’s/PI’s grants (e.g., R01), other institutional support (i.e. T32 travel assistance), and other sources of support (e.g., university-based travel award). 

 

To apply for a Travel Award: 

Submit the following materials in the final section of the poster abstract submission: 

• Cover letter describing your career stage, why you are applying for this award and your commitment to pain research.

• Curriculum Vitae listing your previous research presentations and publications related to pain research.

 

Awardees will be notified of decisions in January 2027. If you are applying for the travel award, please hold off on registering for the meeting. This will not affect the registration rate for trainees. 

 

If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at admin@usasp.org