Best Clinical Oral (Peter Mauro Award): Cathy Lu
Runner Up Best Clinical Oral: Dominica Gidrewicz

Best Basic Science Oral: Vadim Ioblokov
Runner Up Best Basic Science Oral: Eduardo Cobo
Student Choice Best Oral: Basmah Alhassan
Runner Up Student Choice Best Oral: Farhad Peerani
Best Poster by Clinical Trainee: Matthew Sadler
Runner Up Best Poster by Clinical Trainee: Krista Reich
Best Poster by PhD or Postdoc: Shan Gao
Runner Up Best Poster by PhD or Postdoc: Franz Zemp
Best Poster by MSc or Undergrad: Patrick Schenck
Runner Up Best Poster by MSc or Undergrad: Kelcie Lahey

All students are invited to submit abstracts for oral and poster presentation at the Shaffer Awards, hosted by the Alberta Society of Gastroenterology and University of Calgary GI Research Group on Friday, June 6, 2014. Once again this year, the Shaffer Awards will take place at the Chateau Lake Louise in conjunction with the 2nd Annual Alberta Digestive Disease Summit, June 6 - 8, 2014.

Abstracts in any area of basic or clinical science relating to gastrointestinal disease can be submitted by trainees, including undergraduate students, medical students, medical residents, GI fellows, MSc students, PhD students and post-doctoral fellows.

Please read this call for abstracts carefully before completing the online abstract submission form.

The submission form is available online by Clicking Here.

Important Dates:
Abstract Submission Deadline:        Monday, April 7, 2014
Notification Date:                              Monday, April 28, 2014
Hotel Reservation Cut-off:               Monday, May 5, 2014

Abstract Themes and Format:

Abstracts should discuss and report on research in basic or clinical science with relevance to gastrointestinal disease. You will be asked to identify whether your abstract best falls under basic or clinical science on the submission form.

Your abstract should be no more than 350 words (not including author information and title), and must be structured to include the following headings:

• Background
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusions
• Education level of the primary author (undergrad, post-graduate student, resident, etc.)
• Contact information for the primary author, including phone and email address

Process

Abstracts will be reviewed in a blinded fashion, with the top clinical and basic science abstracts presented as oral presentations and the remaining accepted abstracts presented in poster format.

A maximum of 14 abstracts will be selected for oral presentation.
A maximum of 36 abstracts will be accepted for poster presentation.

Students presenting oral abstract will have 10 minutes to present followed by 5 minutes of questions (this will be tightly enforced). Oral presentations will be judged by a panel of experts. Poster presenters will have 2 minutes to present their poster to a panel of judges and an additional 3 minutes for questions.

Authors of abstracts selected for presentation will be contacted via email by Monday, April 28, 2014 and invited to present either a poster or oral presentation. All selected abstracts will be published in an abstract booklet which will be provided to delegates at the Conference.

Funding and Awards

Awards for Best Clinical, Best MSc, Best PhD, and Best Post-Doc for both oral and poster presentations will be presented at the ASG Awards Dinner on the evening of Friday, June 6, 2014. One complimentary banquet ticket is provided for the presenting author; additional tickets may be purchased via the online registration system.

Oral Presenter Funding -
The presenting author of all abstracts selected for oral presentation will receive:

• Complimentary registration to the Friday conference sessions (including breakfast, lunch and breaks);
• A complimentary ticket to the banquet dinner on Friday, June 6th, at which the awards will be presented;
  
• A stipend of $250 to offset travel and accommodation costs relating to attendance at the conference.

Poster Presenter Funding -
The presenting author of all abstracts selected for poster presentation will receive:

• Complimentary registration to the Friday conference sessions (including breakfast, lunch and breaks);
• A complimentary ticket to the banquet dinner on Friday, June 6th, at which the awards will be presented;
  
• A stipend of $125 to offset travel and accommodation costs relating to attendance at the conference.

Presenters must register and pay the applicable single-day or student fee should they wish to attend the full conference (Friday-Sunday).

Abstract Form Submission

Please use the official abstract form only - available online by Clicking Here.

1. Abstracts must be submitted electronically, by email, using the official submission form.
2. Please use standard abbreviation. Place special or unusual abbreviations in parenthesis after the full word when it appears for the first time.
3. Errors, misspellings and incorrect abbreviations will not be corrected.
4. Minimize the use of charts as this detail is not used to evaluate the merit of your abstract.
5. Abstracts must not exceed 350 words (excluding the abstract heading).
6. An individual may submit more than one abstract. One official application form is required for each abstract.
7. There is no fee to submit abstract(s).
8. Edits to submitted abstracts may be made up to Monday, April 7, 2014. Instructions for making edits can be found on the abstract submission form.

Presentation at the Conference

1. A maximum of 14 abstracts will be selected for oral presentation at the Conference; indicate on the submission form whether you are interested in being considered for an oral presentation.
2. A maximum of 36 abstracts will be selected for poster presentation at the Conference.
3. The author for correspondence or presenting author of accepted abstracts will be registered for Friday, June 6th on a complimentary basis. Should a presenter wish to attend the full ADDS conference, additional fees will apply. Please contact asg@buksa.com to make a substitution or to add additional days to your registration.
4. The Conference will provide the author for correspondence or presenting author of all oral presentations with a stipend of $250 to cover travel and accommodation costs. No further assistance will be provided by the conference, and all expenses relating to the production, presentation and shipping of posters are the sole responsibility of the author(s).
5. The Conference will provide the author for correspondence or presenting author of all poster presentations with a stipend of $125 to cover travel and accommodation costs. No further assistance will be provided by the conference, and all expenses relating to the production, presentation and shipping of posters are the sole responsibility of the author(s).
6. The presenter will be required to stand by his/her poster(s) at specific times for poster judging. In the case of multiple authors, at least one author is required to stand by the poster at the specified times.
7. Posters must not exceed 122 cm x 122 cm (48” x 48”) in size but may be any dimension within these constraints. Oversize posters may not be displayed. Push pins will be provided at the conference.

Conference Information

Registration Fees

Full Conference:

Regular Fee $400
Fellows/Student Fee* $200

* Students, residents and fellows must provide a valid student ID or other proof of enrolment. Students must also indicate their area of study on the registration form.

One-Day Registration:

Friday, June 6, 2014                     $150
Saturday, June 7, 2014                $150
Sunday, June 8, 2014                   $150

To register for the conference, please visit the registration tab.

Copyright Permission

By submitting abstracts to the conference, submitters authorize, upon acceptance, the permission to reproduce their abstract in the conference syllabus and on the conference website.

History of the Shaffer Awards

The Shaffer award was established in 1992 by a bequest from the Shaffer family following the death of Henry Shaffer, Father of Eldon Shaffer a Calgary Gastroenterologist.

Henry was a Family Practitioner in Kingston and a frequent visitor to Calgary. During his visits he spent many hours within the Gastrointestinal Research Group and the Gastroenterology Division meeting with and talking to Graduate students, Fellows and Residents. He took a keen interest in their career plans and in the research and training environment in Alberta.

The family decided therefore, that a suitable memorial would be the creation of an award "The Henry E. Shaffer Award" for the best "short" research presentations by trainees in basic or clinical science. The competition has been held every year in Calgary since its inception in 1993 and has evolved to include 25 to 30 competitors. With the Creation of the ADDS meeting the Shaffer awards has been expanded to include all students from University of Calgary and University of Alberta.

---

Alberta Digestive Disease Summit
c/o BUKSA Associates Inc.
Suite 307, 10328 - 81 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T6E 1X2
Phone: 780-436-0983 ext. 257 Email: ADDS@buksa.com