Copyright © 2019 SCASM Students

Student Collegiate Poster Session

Southern California Branch of American Society for Microbiology

83rd Annual Fall Conference

Event Date: Saturday, October 26th, 2019

Event Location: Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine

Deadline for Abstract Submission: 5:00PM on Monday, September 30, 2019

WHO SHOULD SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT

The discipline of microbiology is highly diverse, and encompasses

many specialized areas, which include; but are not limited to, clinical,

ecological, environmental, industrial infectious disease

immunology, marine, pharmaceutical, and public health

microbiology. Undergraduate, graduate or post-baccalaureate

students, and trainees who are participating in research projects

pertaining to any of these specialized areas of microbiology are

encouraged to submit an abstract.

Southern California Branch of American Society for Microbiology

For general inquiries about the conference e-mail scasmstudents@gmail.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

Student Participation Benefits .................................... 3

Student Awards .................................................................... 3

Judging Criteria .................................................................... 4

Abstract Guidelines ........................................................... 4

Poster Guidelines ................................................................ 5

Presentation Guidelines ................................................. 6

Abstract Submission Form ............................................ 7

Poster Evaluation Form .................................................. 8

Example of an Acceptable Abstract .......................... 9

Example of an Acceptable Poster ........................... 10

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Student Participation Benefits

▪ Registration for the conference on Saturday October 26th, 2019 will be waived for those students whose abstract is accepted to participate in the poster session.

▪ All poster presenters will receive an official certificate of participation.

▪ Attend thought-provoking talks pertaining to microbiology, and opportunities for networking with microbiologists in various fields of microbiology.

Student Awards

▪ Total of 3 or 4 awards depending on funding.

▪ The 3 or 4 winners will each be awarded a travel grant to attend and present their posters at the national ASM Microbe conference to be held in Chicago, Illinois at McCormick Place on June 18–22nd, 2020. The total value of each award is up to $1500, which includes airfare, lodging, food, and conference registration. The trip will be reimbursed after the travel has occurred with the appropriate itemized receipts provided to the SCASM Treasurer.

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Judging Criteria

▪ Criteria for poster judging are listed on the poster evaluation form on page (8).

▪ The poster(s)* with the highest cumulative score in the undergraduate category win the award for that category, and the poster(s)* with the highest cumulative score in the graduate/post-baccalaureate category win the award for that category. 1 or 2* depending on funding

▪ There will be judges representing various areas of microbiology. Judges will include microbiology educators/researchers and PhD post-doctoral fellows from academic institutions in Southern California.

▪ In the event of a tie, the winner(s) will be determined by the votes of 3 alternate judges.

Abstract Guidelines

▪ Abstracts must be typed in a 12-point font size, with a word limit of 350.

▪ Abstract must be submitted using the abstract submission form on page (7).

▪ Abstract must include the following: title, author including the principal

investigator(s), affiliated institution(s), introduction, objectives, methods,

materials, results and conclusion(s).

▪ The reason for the study or how the study came about (e.g., hypothesis,

discovery or central question) should be clearly stated.

▪ Data must be included and must support the stated conclusion(s).

EXAMPLES OF ABSTRACTS THAT MAY BE REJECTED

▪ Abstracts that are general descriptions of a new product.

▪ Abstracts that read like advertisements.

▪ Abstracts that describe future studies. ▪ Abstracts that do not include data.

Please see page (9) for an example of an acceptable abstract

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Poster Guidelines

▪ Poster must be typed in a ≥14-point font size.

▪ Poster size should not exceed 42 x 56 inches in dimensions.

▪ An easel and push pins for attaching your poster will be provided for

displaying of poster.

▪ Poster must include the following sections: title, author including the

principal investigator(s), affiliated institution(s), introduction, objectives,

methods, materials, results, conclusion(s), and an optional

acknowledgment(s) and reference(s) section.

▪ Registration for poster presenter is at 6:30AM-8:30AM and poster

setup is at 6:30AM-8:30AM on Saturday, October 26th, 2019.

Please see page (10) for an example of an acceptable poster

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Presentation Guidelines “1- minute elevator Pitch”

▪ All poster presenters must prepare a “1- minute elevator pitch”

presentation. 20 poster presenters will be randomly selected on the day of the poster presentation, Saturday October 26th, 2019 for a short 1-minute oral presentation on their research before noon. The “1-minute elevator pitch” is an opportunity to quickly and compellingly explain your research to the conference attendees and is meant to attract the audience to visit your poster.

▪ The oral presentation will not be used as a judging criterion. For a list of

judging criteria, see the poster evaluation form on page (8).

Use the following links below for tips on preparing a quick

elevator speech

https://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7435-137a https://www.software.ac.uk/home/cw11/giving-good-lightning-talk

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Abstract Submission Form

▪ Deadline for abstract submission is at 5:00PM on Monday, September 30th, 2019

▪ No more than 3 abstracts per PI/lab are allowed to be submitted.

▪ No co-presenters are allowed.

▪ Abstract submission forms received after the deadline will be automatically rejected.

▪ Notification of abstract acceptance for the poster session and your poster assignment number will be sent by email on Wednesday, October 9th, 2019.

Please use the following link to submit an abstract.

➢ https://forms.gle/sDvzNzsSsfDcauju7

For questions regarding abstract submissions please email:

Edith Porter, MD Associate Chair and Professor of Microbiology & Immunology Department of Biological Sciences California State University, Los Angeles Email: eporter@calstatela.edu

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Poster Evaluation Form Southern California Branch of American Society for Microbiology

83rd Annual Fall Conference

Judge’s Name: _________________________________

Poster Category (check box): ☐ Undergraduate ☐ Graduate/Post-baccalaureate

What year will the student graduate? _____________

Poster Number: _____________

Poster Title: ____________________________________________________________

1= Poor, 2= Fair, 3= Good, 4= Excellent, 5= Outstanding

REVIEW CRITERIA Please circle the score

for each category

Abstract – includes summary of pertinent details according to poster abstract guidelines

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2

3

4

5

Statement of the Research Question – clearly states the research question with appropriate background to the bigger picture

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2

3

4

5

Methodology – methods/techniques are appropriate and properly applied

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2

3

4

5

Results – logical, clearly presented, and appropriately summarized

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2

3

4

5

Conclusions, Future Research – based on given results, emphasizes significance and possible implications of study

1

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3

4

5

Response to Questions – presenter has a good grasp of the subject matter and related areas and responds effectively and clearly to questions

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2

3

4

5

Overall Organization of Poster – graphics, photographs, other visual aids, and text are well prepared, clean, free of errors, and appropriate for the presentation

1

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4

5

Total Score

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EXAMPLE OF AN ACCEPTABLE ABSTRACT

Over-Diagnosis of Clostridium difficile Infection in Hospitalized Patients with Diarrhea at a North American Academic Medical Center

V. Anikst2, R. Gaur2, N. Banaei1,

1Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Stanford University Medical Center, CA, USA

2Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA, USA

Intro: Clostridium difficile is a cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Accurate diagnosis of C. difficile infection (CDI) is hampered by the inability of laboratory diagnostics to distinguish between infection and colonization. Thus, CDI case definition is based on a combination of clinically significant episodes of diarrhea and laboratory detection of toxigenic C. difficile in stool. Objective: The primary objective of this retrospective study was to measure the proportion of patients with positive tcdB PCR result that do not meet the clinical criterion for CDI. The secondary objectives were to (i) compare the rate of tcdB PCR positivity in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and (ii) determine whether C. difficile organism burden, TcdA and TcdB toxin levels, and lactoferrin level can serve as a laboratory surrogate for clinical criterion. Methods: Between 7/1/12 and 1/4/14, chart review was performed on consecutive adult patients with positive tcdB PCR results to determine whether patients met the clinical criterion. Prospectively, tcdB PCR was also performed on 305 stool samples from asymptomatic patients in three hospital units. Lastly, quantitative PCR and ELISA were performed on frozen stool aliquots to determine organism burden, toxin A and B and fecal lactoferrin level, respectively, in symptomatic (n=118) and asymptomatic (n=32) patients. Results: Among 628 symptomatic patients with positive tcdB PCR results, 34% (n=210) met the case definition for CDI, however, 50% (n=106) were on laxatives at the time of CDI testing. There was no significance difference between colonization rate and symptomatic carriage rate (11.5% vs. 15.2%; P value= 0.19 by Chi-squared test). There was no significant difference in organism burden and toxin A and B levels between symptomatic patients with positive tcdB PCR that met or did not meet clinical criterion and asymptomatic patients that were colonized. Only fecal lactoferrin showed significantly elevated levels in tcdB PCR symptomatic patients compared to colonized patients. Conclusion: A great majority of symptomatic patients with positive tcdB PCR results do not meet the case definition for CDI. The C. difficile burden, toxin level, or lactoferrin level cannot serve as a laboratory surrogate for clinical criterion.

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EXAMPLE OF AN ACCEPTABLE POSTER