Student Abstract Submissions

UCF Institute of Exercise Physiology and Rehabilitation Science

Requirements for all submissions:

Submitted abstracts must be emailed to kaitlyn.lyons@ucf.edu and addressed to Kaitlyn Lyons by September 14, 2026 at 11:59pm EST. Please include “IEPRS Conference” in the subject line
Abstracts must be limited to 500 words (not including title, authors, institutions, headings)
You may include 1 table or figure, but it must be referenced in the abstract. Inclusion of a table or figure is not required.
Students can present completed projects, preliminary data, or a research proposal.
Poster or podium presentation designation will be assigned after abstract acceptance. Be prepared to do either!
Presentations will be reviewed by a panel of expert judges. Prizes will be awarded to the top presenters!

Conference room with people sitting in chairs watching a student present their abstract

Guidelines for Completed Project Abstracts

Title: The title should be brief and descriptive (No more than 15 words).

Authors: List first & last names of all authors.

Institutions: List institutional affiliations for all authors.

Background: Use 1-2 sentences to describe the rationale for the study, the research question, or the uniqueness of the study design. Identify the target population, interventions, and outcomes.

Methods: Describe the overall study design (i.e. cross-sectional, observational, randomized controlled trial, etc.). Describe the study setting. Discuss the final participants and selection procedures (number of participants, demographics, etc.). Discuss independent and dependent variables and their levels. Describe relevant instrumentation and procedures used. Include the statistical analyses used to answer the research questions.

Results: Report the main results of the study. Comparative reports must include descriptive data (e.g., proportions, means, rates, odds ratios, or correlations), accompanying measures of dispersion (e.g., ranges, standard deviations, or confidence intervals), and inferential statistical data. Include the exact level of statistical significance of the results. The p-value should not exceed 3 digits to the right of a decimal. When the exact significance is below p < .001, the exact significance should be reported as p < .001. A single table or figure can be used to communicate the results efficiently. If a table or figure is included with the abstract, it needs to be referenced in the abstract.

Conclusions: Summarize or emphasize the new and important findings of the study. The conclusion must be consistent with the study objectives and results as reported and should be no more than three to four sentences. Relate implications of the findings for clinical practice and provide a clinical take-home message/bottom line/recommendation that aligns with the objectives of the study.

Guidelines for Preliminary Findings/Proposal Abstracts

Title: The title should be brief and descriptive (No more than 15 words).

Authors: List first & last names of all authors.

Institutions: List institutional affiliations for all authors.

Background: 1-2 sentences describing the rationale for the study, the research question, or the uniqueness of the study design. Identify the target population, interventions, and outcomes.

Preliminary Results (if applicable): If you have preliminary data, report the main results of the study. Comparative reports must include descriptive data (e.g., proportions, means, rates, odds ratios, or correlations), accompanying measures of dispersion (e.g., ranges, standard deviations, or confidence intervals), and inferential statistical data. Include the exact level of statistical significance of the results. The p-value should not exceed 3 digits to the right of a decimal. When the exact significance is below p < .001, the exact significance should be reported as p < .001. A single table or figure can be used to communicate the results efficiently. If a table or figure is included with the abstract, it needs to be referenced in the abstract.

Note: If your study is a proposal or does not have preliminary findings, do not include this section.

Conclusions (if applicable) or Hypotheses: If your study is a proposal, discuss your hypotheses and expected practical/clinical implications of your study design. If you have preliminary results, summarize or emphasize the new and important findings of the study. Discuss the potential clinical implications/bottom line/take home message based on your preliminary findings.

Presentation Guidelines

All student presenters will be given 5 minutes to present. Presenters should prepare no more than 10 slides (including title slide, references, etc.). The first slide should contain the title, the names of all authors on their abstract, the institution(s) where the research was performed, and any acknowledgements/funding sources. All presentations will be evaluated by a panel of judges.

Rules

Presenters must attend the conference in-person.
No additional props (e.g., costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
Podium presentations are limited to 5 minutes. Presenters exceeding 5 minutes will be automatically disqualified from the competition if they do not complete their presentation in 5 minutes.
Presentations are to be expository (e.g., no poems, rapping, or songs) and focused on the abstract that was submitted.
The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.

Poster Presentation Guidelines

All poster presentations should be printed on one uniform poster sheet with dimensions not exceeding 36 × 48 inches (height × width).
Poster abstract presentations abstract presentations must be consistent with the contents of the accepted abstract, and include the following sections: purpose, methods, results, and conclusions,
Poster presenters are expected to stand next to their poster for the duration of the presentation time.