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From Abstract(s) to Concrete!

  

During my first trip to the ARVO Annual Meeting, I was not quite sure what to expect other than what I had been told by my research mentors, who emphasized the huge, initially overwhelming scope of the meeting. Entering the exhibit hall to set up my poster, I was unprepared for the vastness of the auditorium and the number of presenters surrounding me. Wonderful advice has already been provided on this blog in terms of preparing your schedule before arrival, namely by checking the Abstract Search and Mobile App, but I will add some more points geared towards those of you who are in training!

Pre-ARVO

1.) Review your presentation with your research mentor(s).  This may seem obvious, but having more than one set of eyes to look over your work invariably diminishes the likelihood of including confusing wording or misplacing images.

2.) Know your research! One of the best aspects of ARVO is its multidisciplinary (MD, PhD, OD, MD/PhD, Students, Residents, etc…you get the idea) and international nature, which means that there will be a plethora of individuals interested in and inquiring about your research. Making sure you know the ins and outs of your project will be helpful because questions can range from detailed (typically from individuals who are working on similar projects) to general (individuals who have not heard anything about your findings and wish to know the punch line – how does it affect them as practitioners, students, researchers, etc.?).

3.) Print and pack paper copies of your poster. I forgot to do this last year during my poster presentation, and it made for some frustrated fellow attendees! Those individuals who are particularly interested in your project and your findings will often wish to hold on to a copy of your poster, either to contact you in the future or to review later in conjunction with their own work (new ideas, additions/changes to their own projects, etc.). Having some copies on hand will spare poster visitors from having to take notes on scrap paper that (let’s face it) will likely get lost in the swath of papers we will all receive at the meeting.

At ARVO

1.) Review the Program Summary. As soon as you arrive at the Convention Center and take care of registration (if necessary), take a copy of the Program Summary, the hefty book lying in stacks at stands all over the center. This book, in addition to having overviews of each day of the conference, has listings of all the posters, paper presentations, and symposia with times and dates.

2.) Move from abstract to concrete. As has already been stated, the number of presenters and topics at ARVO are enough to set anyone’s head spinning. What I found helpful in planning my daily schedules was to think about my general interests – for example, my research involved retinal disease as well as genetics. I used these to scan the Session Titles at the front of each day’s section in the big Summary book and found specific lectures and/or posters under the titles of interest. Start broad, get specific. It really helps to chip away at the information overload.

3.) Poster Etiquette! Some of this may seem intuitive, but nevertheless, first things first – pick up some thumb tacks from the Information Desk when you walk into the Exhibit Hall. Help out other presenters with putting up and taking down posters – they are bigger and tougher to arrange on the boards then you might expect (trust me on this one). Also, make sure to stand by your poster during the “All Poster Session” in addition to your assigned time – I found that a bit confusing during my session. At any other time, you are welcome to wander through the hall or leave and attend some of the paper presentations or symposia.

4.) Make friends! ARVO is a great place to meet people from other departments and to form research collaborations. Seeing other peoples’ projects can tune you into the latest advances in fields of interest to you and might give you ideas for your own projects, so make sure to get contact information from individuals with whom you interact in this context. As a medical student, I had fun getting to know other students and grabbing meals and drinks with them after the conference was over each day, all of whom will be my colleagues in the future - that’s what makes attending ARVO an exciting and enjoyable experience.

Well, I guess that’s it for now! For first-time attendees and presenters, I wish you all the best of luck! You will have a fantastic time!

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