2026 Abstract Submissions

Abstract Submissions are open August 18^th!

Important Dates

• Submission Deadline:  September 23^rd
• Notification of abstract acceptance: Late November

*A special deadline exists for Paper/Poster Submissions that are presented/submitted by a Fellow in Training. If utilizing this deadline, title and co-authors must be submitted by September 23^rd, the full abstract submitted in the system by October 30^th.

An optometrist may participate in the AAPOS annual meeting if they are an invited speaker on a symposium or a presenting or listed co-author on a selected poster or paper.  Optometrists may not be the presenting author on topics related to surgery or ophthalmic procedures. (Policy Revised 1.12.2022)

 

Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Fellows

There is a later abstract submission deadline for Pediatric Ophthalmology and/or Strabismus Fellows who started their fellowship on or after July 1, 2025. 

The AAPOS Program Committee is aware of the tight timeline encountered by fellows when submitting an abstract for the annual AAPOS meeting. The fact that fellowships begin in July, coupled with the need for IRB approval of projects, can make it difficult for a new fellow to submit a completed and detailed abstract by the conventional deadline. The deadline is early because the Program Committee reviews and grades abstracts prior to their fall meeting when final decisions are made. CME application is then generally completed by early December to ensure that our members receive full CME credit for all abstracts.

To accommodate the delayed route: 

• The Program Committee will save a pre-selected number of paper and poster positions for potential fellow presentations.

• The fellow is still required to submit an abstract using the form titled: Extended Deadline Paper/Poster Submission - Fellow-in-Training ONLY.

• All required information including the title and author must be completed on the separate form by the September 23^rd deadline including completed financial disclosures forms for each author. This form will remain open to submit the final abstract by the fellow by the 10:00 AM CDST October 30^th deadline. 

• A pdf of a letter from the fellowship director verifying that the first author is currently a fellow and that the research project is underway must be uploaded to the Extended Deadline Paper/Poster Submission – Fellow-in-Training Only form by September 23^rd.

• Although this route of submission gives the fellow more time to submit a completed abstract, it is possible, depending on the number and quality of standard versus late submissions, that a later submission may result in a lower chance of the abstract being accepted.

• If a fellow chooses the regular submission deadline, they should use the regular paper/poster submission form and complete by September 23^rd.

*If you are an AAPOS member or on a submission from 2025, you already have an account in the system. On the submission site, log into your account or click "Forgot Password" and use the email address associated with your AAPOS Membership to reset your password for your existing account. Do not create a new account.