The Office of Research invites all UAB School of Public Health undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, staff, and faculty to present, attend, and take part in the annual Public Health Research Poster Session.

Alumni, community, and university collaborators are welcome to attend the poster session and learn about ongoing research at the School of Public Health. Research presented at the session ranges from completed studies to early-stage concepts and pilot data. Through this annual event, we hope to stimulate networking among the SOPH community, celebrate the school’s commitment to scientific research and discovery, and express our appreciation to our university and community collaborators. 

Poster Session Information

• Poster Templates
• Printing Instructions
• Poster Content Guidelines
• Judging Criteria
• Non-Presenter Registration

Poster Templates

The SOPH Office of Research has developed poster templates for the school’s use. We strongly encourage poster presenters to use these templates. Templates are available for download.

If you are not using one of the above templates to create your poster, the preferred poster size is 36" x 48".

Public Health Poster Session Steps:

1. Submit your abstract by March 15, 2024. If selected, you will receive an email with detailed information on your next steps.

Printing Instructions

SOPH Students and Post-doctoral Fellows

The SOPH Office of Research will cover a portion of printing costs for student and post-doctoral fellow posters presented. Posters printed by the Office of Research must use one of the templates provided. Contact sophresearch@uab.edu for more information.

SOPH Staff and Faculty

Please make your own arrangements to have your poster printed. We recommend using the Biomedical Sciences Poster Service Center.

Poster Content Guidelines

As indicated in the poster templates, the general poster format is comprised of the following sections:

• Title: The title should be distinctive and accurately convey the research presented. Titles should be limited to one to two lines of text.
• Authors: All poster authors’ first and last names should be listed. Below the list of author names, include author affiliations. Examples:
  • Jane Doe¹, John Smith², Jill Johnson¹
  • ¹Department of Health Behavior, ²Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Introduction or Background: The Introduction or Background should grab the interest of the observer. The introduction (approximately 125 words in length) should provide the absolute minimum of background information and definitions. It should:
  • place the research issue in the context of published primary literature,
  • provide a justification of the research, and
  • provide a clear statement of the hypothesis or hypotheses and/or the goal of the research.
• Methods: The methods section should provide information on the study design, population included in the research, and a description of how the data were collected and analyzed. A sub-section of the methods should provide a high-level description of the approach for conducting the statistical analyses.
• Results: This section should comprise the bulk (e.g., two-thirds) of your poster and should be comprised of tables and figures. The first objective is to summarize the primary outcome of the research by providing a brief description of the results. This general statement should be followed by a presentation of data (charts, images, or tables) that specifically addresses the hypothesis. The results section is typically the largest section of the poster.
• Discussion: The discussion (approximately 200 words) summarizes the research results and puts them in the context of the related literature.
• Conclusion: The conclusion provides a concluding statement and mentions areas where further research is needed (i.e., next steps).
• Acknowledgments: This section may not be applicable to all posters. Use this section to thank individuals for their contribution to project if they are not authors. You may also use this section to acknowledge financial and other relevant support for the project.
• References: Literature cited should be listed in a consistent bibliographic format used in your area of research. Journal articles are considered to be primary references and are a preferred source for information. Some posters do not have references; those that do limit references to 10 citations maximum.

Judging Criteria

Public Health Research Session judges are UAB Faculty and Alumni. On the day of the event, judges spend time discussing posters and completing evaluations. At least two judges will review each poster and the top three posters in each category will receive an award.

Evaluation Criteria

• Communication and Presentation: How well does the presenter convey the information presented on the poster within the five minute time limit?
• Balance and Conciseness: Is proper emphasis and coverage given to pertinent issues?
• Validity: Is the poster and presentation sufficiently supported by data or facts?
• Impact and Innovation: Will the research move the field forward? Is the research innovative?
• Organization: Is the poster easy to follow in terms of information flow and layout?

Awards

Awards will be presented for the following categories:

• First Place: Staff, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Doctoral Student, Master Student, Bachelor Student
• Second Place: Staff, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Doctoral Student, Master Student, Bachelor Student
• Third Place: Staff, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Doctoral Student, Master Student, Bachelor Student

Non-Presenter Registration

We welcome all SOPH and UAB faculty, staff, post-docs and students to view the poster presentations and attend the keynote. Please register by March 27, 2024 to attend.

Make sure that you register for the poster session before the deadline passes. The registration deadline will not be extended.

Register

Questions

Please email sophresearch@uab.edu.