Submissions due by December 1, 2023 –
6:00PM CST
Program proposals are solicited within three general themes; biological/preclinical, psychosocial/medical/clinical and translational research, must include alcohol research. When designing the proposal, organizers are encouraged to use an integrative approach, with the goal of making the presentations relevant to a rather broad audience of alcohol researchers by doing one or both of the following:
- Integrate research across disciplines and levels of organization; e.g., molecular, biology, neuroscience, and psychology. This should be done explicitly both in the presentations and in the discussant’s comments.
- Focus on differences and commonalities between alcohol and other drugs. This can be with reference to mechanisms of action, patterns of use, or consequences of use.
The Committee strongly encourages both junior and senior researchers to submit proposals. Special consideration will be given to proposals that include diversity reflected by (but not limited to) gender, race, ethnicity, additional diversity-related characteristics, geographical, career level. Additionally, organizers should include participants from different institutions (including from outside the United States) in order to provide diverse viewpoints. Proposals examining the impact and/or intersectionality of racial disparities; health disparities; or those with an alcohol and comorbidity aspect (i.e., biomedical, substance use, mental health, COVID-19) are encouraged.
STATEMENTS and GUIDELINES RE: ADDICTION TERMINOLOGY: The Research Society on Alcohol and the journal Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research recommends against the use of terminology that can stigmatize people who use alcohol, drugs, other addictive substances or who have an addictive behavior. Adherence to these guidelines will be considered when reviewing program proposal submissions. Click for more details: http://www.rsoa.org/rsaacerstatementsandguidelinesreaddictionterminology
Program Themes:
Biological/Preclinical: refers to non-human based research in areas such as ontogenetic, physiological, genetic, cognitive/behavioral or neurobiological studies, as well as research in pre-clinical models of alcohol intake and alcohol-related disorders.
Psychosocial/Medical/Clinical: refers to human-based research that includes physiological or non-physiological studies of cognition, behavior or social factors, along with epidemiological and prevention research. Includes basic laboratory-based physiological research with humans (with or without medications/alcohol), clinical trials, human neuroimaging and genetic studies.
Translational: refers to studies that are explicitly designed to cross usual disciplinary boundaries; e.g., biomarker versus function, laboratory-based vs clinical outcome, human versus non-human on a specific behavioral outcome, the application of results from clinical studies to clinical practice. TRANSLATIONAL designation will be confirmed through the review process; make sure the talks cohesively include cross-disciplinary findings.
Proposal Category:
The program category is primarily used to assign reviewers. The list is divided into three areas (Biological/Preclinical, Psychosocial/Medical/Clinical, Other) with various research categories under each area. (Proposal Categories)
Diversity:
Proposals that highlight diversity in topic including, but not limited to cultural, stereotypes, gender, race, ethnicity, URMs, generational are strongly encouraged and will be noted during the review process and indicated in the final program.
Diversity in participants including, but not limited to, gender, race, ethnicity, additional diversity-related characteristics, geographical, career level are strongly encouraged and will be noted during the review process.
Program Formats:
Symposium: intended to highlight progress and exciting new developments in a field. They should comprise a 5-minute introduction (3 slide limit) followed by 4 presentations consisting of 18-minute talks and a 13-minute discussion/question period (no slides). Total time is 90 minutes. Speaker Abstracts are required for each presentation and are a separate submission process.
Workshop: intended to focus on new, developing or established research or clinical questions or problems that may be helped by open discussion. They should comprise an introduction (5 minutes) in which the topic is outlined and questions or goals are presented, followed by either:
- 3 presentations consisting of 20-minute talks each and a 25-minute open discussion at the end.
- 4 presentations consisting of 15-minute talks each and a 25-minute open discussion at the end.
Total Time is 90 minutes. Speaker Abstracts are required for each presentation and are a separate submission process.
Roundtable: Roundtable: intended to present controversial points of view in a format that encourages a lively exchange and participation. They should comprise a brief introduction followed by up to 6 presentations (1 panel member per)/discussions of different viewpoints and a 25-minute open discussion at the end. Total Time is 90 minutes. Speaker Abstracts are not accepted for this format.
Oral Presentation Limitations:
Individuals may give only one oral (talk) presentation. When inviting your speakers, confirm they have not already been invited to speak in another symposium, workshop or roundtable. If someone is listed as a speaker on more than one (1) proposal, a replacement speaker will be requested prior to committee review.
NOTE: All oral presentations are in-person only; no virtual/digital presentation options will be offered (e.g., pre-recorded talks or live streams).
Participation Limitations:
Keeping in mind the “one-talk” limit, there is also a two proposed sessions involvement (organizer, chair, introducer, Q&A moderator/discussant) limit - no individual may participate in more than two sessions (any format). Presenting an introduction or being a discussant does not count as an oral presentation (i.e., Dr. Jones can present an oral presentation in one session and be an introducer or discussant in one session; another example: a person can serve as chair, introducer and/or discussant on a proposal in which they are a proposed speaker). The introductions should be brief and Q&A moderator/discussion should be an overview of the presentations - not a separate presentation. Program organizers will be required to find a replacement, prior to proposal review, if a listed individual is already a proposed speaker on more than one proposal or participant (i.e., intro, chair, discussant) on more than two proposals. If someone is listed on more than two (2) proposals, any role(s), a replacement will be requested prior to committee review.
Letter of Assurance:
RSA does not provide funds or waive registration for participants in Symposia, Workshops or Roundtables. It is the organizer’s responsibility to inform all participants that, if proposal is accepted, they are required to register for the meeting.
Industry Sponsorship - prohibited:
For-profit Corporations (or foundations of for-profit corporations) are not permitted to sponsor any symposia, workshops or roundtables or networking events.
Disclosure Form Requirements:
All organizers, chairs, introducers, discussants/question moderators and speakers are required to complete a Conflict of Interest Disclosure form. A link to the form will be sent the link after acceptance of the program.
Proposal Review Criteria:
Quality (overall); Appeal/Timeliness (not a re-hashing of old data, includes unpublished findings, new to the audience); Integration (bridging different types of research); Broad Approach(es) to topic of interest; International Representation; Innovation/Novelty; and Broad Representation (more than 1 lab; inclusion of graduate students, postdocs and/or junior faculty members). Please note that proposal rejection is possible based on reviews and/or number of submissions received.
Submission Requirements:
Three (3) Keywords
Three (3) Learning Objectives, in list form, be specific.
Organizer(s) and Chair(s) must have an established profile in RSA or one will need to be created.
Title of Proposal is limited to 22 max word count.
Theme, Category and Format must be indicated.
Letter of Assurance stating all participants are aware of the requirement to register for the meeting.
Name of individual for the role of Introduction.
Name of individual for the role of Questions Moderator/Discussant.
Name of each speaker ONLY (all authors can be listed within Speaker Abstract) and the title of their talk/presentation. Titles are limited to 22 max word count.
Complete Proposal – 925 max word count – organized as follows:
TITLE:
ORGANIZER(s):
CHAIR(S):
RATIONALE AND CONTENT: (text in lower case) This should include the bulk of your proposal description.
INTRODUCTION – NAME:
PRESENTATION 1 – TITLE AND SPEAKER’S NAME: very brief description, not full speaker abstract.
PRESENTATION 2 – TITLE AND SPEAKER’S NAME: very brief description, not full speaker abstract.
PRESENTATION 3 – TITLE AND SPEAKER’S NAME: very brief description, not full speaker abstract.
PRESENTATION 4 – TITLE AND SPEAKER’S NAME: very brief description, not full speaker abstract.
QUESTIONS MODERATOR/DISCUSSANT – NAME: