Abstract

The abstract submission site for the 5^th Global Congress on Sickle Cell Disease is now open. The abstract submission deadline is 30 January  2025, at 11:59 PM Pacific time.

• Abstracts must be submitted online through the official online abstract submission system on the 5^th Global Congress website. Abstracts not submitted through this site will not be accepted.
• You will receive an e-mail providing a link to your submission. 
• Abstract submission is free.
• The online abstract submission system will provide links so that you can download free browser software
• Abstracts notification will be sent by 15 February 2025.

Submit your Abstract

Abstract Criteria

• At least one of the authors should be present in person to present the abstract if accepted.
• The content of the abstract must fit into one of the abstract categories (Clinical Science, Basic Science, and Health Services Research).
• All relevant conflicts of interest must be disclosed, and data presented fairly and transparently.
• Once the abstract is submitted, no further changes can be made or updated to the submitted abstract.

Responsibilities of Presenting Author

• Once an abstract is accepted, the presenting author is the sole contact for all correspondence regarding the abstract, unless otherwise specified under the “Contact Information” 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 the Abstract Review Committee
  • Forwarding all correspondence from the Abstract Review Committee to all co-authors.
• Presenting authors of abstracts accepted for oral or poster presentation should attend the 2025 Global Congress in Nigeria in person. If a presenting author is unable to attend or needs to be replaced by a co-author who can attend the meeting in person, please notify the abstract committee by: mail@globalsicklecellcongress.com no later than February 15, 2025.

How to Submit an Abstract

• All abstracts must be submitted by January 31, 2025, at 11:59 p.m., Pacific time. All submissions that are incomplete by the deadline will be rejected.
• Abstracts must be submitted online through the official online abstract submission system. Abstracts sent via e-mail will not be accepted.
• Electronic submission works optimally with Microsoft Internet Explorer 7+, Mozilla Firefox 3.0+, and Safari or MAC OS 10.4+. Netscape Navigator 7.7+ is supported, but its use is discouraged since not all features are available. The online abstract submission system will provide links for free browser downloads.
• Once authors have submitted the title of the abstract, a draft will be saved, and the submitting author will be able to return to the site to edit and update the submission at any time until January 31, 2025, at 11:59 p.m., Pacific time. The submitting author will receive an e-mail providing a link to their submission.
• Any technical questions regarding navigation of the submission site itself should be directed to the Abstract Review Committee by: mail@globalsicklecellcongress.com It is advisable not to leave submission of the abstract to the final day or hours, giving time for Congress staff to assist with any technical problems during the submission process.

Abstract Content

• An abstract must include primary new scientific, clinical, basic, meta-analytic, health outcomes, or epidemiologic data. The only exceptions are “Trials in Progress” abstracts.
• It is expected that all scientific research submitted or presented as part of the abstract program will confirm to the generally accepted standards of scientific integrity regarding experimental design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
• All studies reported in submitted abstracts involving human and animal subjects must comply with the guiding principles for experimental procedures in the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association.
• Data from long-term follow-up or additional accrual to previously presented or published clinical trials may be submitted only if the abstract includes significant new information.
• Interim analysis of a prospective randomized clinical trial will be considered for presentation only if such an analysis is performed as planned in the original protocol or results from the trial being closed early due to unexpected toxicity, futility, or benefit.

Contact Information

• The corresponding author must provide their name, degree, institutional affiliation, address, phone number, and e-mail address. All correspondence from the Congress will be sent to the corresponding author during the submission period. If an abstract is accepted, all subsequent correspondence will be sent to the presenting author.

Abstract Title

• The abstract title should be brief and clearly indicate the nature of the abstract.
• The abstract title must be in title 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” when used as an infinitive.
• Do not put a period at the end of the title.
• For example: Hydroxyurea for Stroke Prevention in Sickle Cell Disease

Abstract Body

• The entire body of the abstract must not exceed 3800 characters. The title, authors’ names, and authors’ affiliations are not included in the character count.
• The body of the abstract is to be pasted into the submission form.
• Up to one table and/or figure is permitted with the abstract. The character count does not include the table or figure. 
• The abstract must be structured i.e., abstracts divided into sections using terms including Introduction, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
• Special Greek and mathematical symbols are available in a character map within the submission system. Pay careful attention to superscripts, type case font sizes, and special characters when copying/pasting abstract text.
• Use numerals to indicate numbers, except when beginning sentences.
• Any references should be noted as citations within the text and not as footnotes at the end of the abstract.
• 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.

Presentation

• The presentation at the meeting must reflect the content of the submitted abstract. In particular, the abstract title, authorship, and scientific content of the presentation at the meeting must match the submitted abstract, although updates of data included in the abstract may be included.
• Abstracts cannot be changed after the submission deadline.
• During submission, the authors may elect to have their abstract considered for a “poster-only” presentation. By making this selection, the abstract will not be considered for oral presentation, regardless of the score. Choose this option if the presenting author is unwilling or unable to give an oral presentation in English. This choice must be made during the submission process and cannot be changed after the Abstract Review Committee has reached its decision.

Abstract Review and Selection Process

• After the submission deadline, all completed and eligible abstracts will be made available to the Abstract Reviewers for double-anonymized review and scoring, and final decisions will be made by the Abstract Review Committee.
• Abstracts will be evaluated and scored solely on their scientific merits.
• The same study must not be submitted as multiple abstracts. Abstracts that are simply different versions of a single study will be rejected.
• Abstracts will be peer-reviewed according to the subject categories. Authors must indicate the appropriate review category (one only) during online submission. Please use the list of abstract review categories when selecting the abstract classification. Please read through all the categories and select the category most closely associated with the abstract. Authors will not be able to reclassify their abstracts after the abstract submission site closes.

Acceptance/Rejection notification

Notification regarding acceptance or rejection of abstracts will be sent via e-mail to the presenting authors; consequently, providing an accurate e-mail address at submission is important. If the abstract is accepted, the e-mail will specify whether it is accepted as oral or poster presentation.