Poster Presenter Guidelines

Important dates:

May 2: Registration deadline for all presenters.

June 17: Watch for an email from Alerts@ATIVsoftware.com with individualized poster upload instructions for the Conference App. IMPORTANT–do not forward this link to someone else to use, as it is specifically meant for you.

June 24, 8:00 p.m. EDT: Deadline to upload a poster to the Conference App. This deadline applies to all poster authors who choose to upload a poster.

Overview

We will have over 800 poster presentations at the meeting. In addition authors have the opportunity to upload a virtual poster which gives attendees a chance to view the poster outside of the poster session time. Poster presentations at Worm 2025 will consist of two parts. The in-person presentation and the optional virtual poster upload:

• In-person Poster Sessions: Most submitted abstracts will be scheduled as posters. Authors will be assigned a designated time to present their posters. All abstract authors who are not selected for a plenary or concurrent session must display and present a poster.
• Virtual Poster Files in the App: Poster authors will be invited to upload a poster PDF and a 2-minute audio overview. Presenters will upload their posters between June 17 and  June 24, 2025. The PDFs will be available to conference registrants via the App between June 24  and July 31, 2025.  Attendees will be able to leave questions on the poster entry in the App. Uploading a PDF of your poster is not mandatory but highly recommended.

Poster presentations

Authors will display their posters and present based on the schedule below. Authors are expected to be at their poster during the one-hour times listed. Authors can display their poster 30 minutes before the start of the session. They must be removed at the end of the session.

Poster session schedule

Sunday, June 29	All “A” poster authors will present. Posters can be displayed beginning at 7:00 p.m.
	7:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. 9:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. 10:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m.	Open Viewing  Even-numbered “A” posters Odd-numbered “A” posters Open Viewing Posters must be removed at 10:30 p.m.
Monday, June 30	All “B” poster authors will present. Posters can be displayed beginning at 7:00 p.m.
	7:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. 9:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. 10:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m.	Open Viewing  Even-numbered “B” posters Odd-numbered “B” posters Open Viewing Posters must be removed at 10:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 1	All “C” poster authors will present. Posters can be displayed beginning at 3:00 p.m.
	3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m.	Open Viewing Even-numbered “C” posters  Odd-numbered “C” posters Open Viewing Posters must be removed at 6:30 p.m.

Please keep personal items with you at all times. GSA cannot be responsible for items left in the hall, including but not limited to poster tubes, purses, backpacks, etc.

All posters will be located in the exhibit and poster area at the meeting site. You must wear your official meeting badge to enter the exhibits and posters.

IMPORTANT: Poster size and format

Each author is allotted one-half of a poster board and posters should be no larger than 46″ wide by 44” tall. Larger posters will be removed.

If a presenter is unable to attend their poster at the designated time, GSA asks that they find an alternate person to present in their absence. Poster numbers will be placed on the poster boards. Please do not remove the poster numbers. If the number is moved or removed, we will not be able to consider your poster for the Poster Award Competition.

GSA’s Code of Conduct states that photos should not be taken of posters without the presenter’s permission. To remind poster viewers, it may be helpful to include this icon on your poster.

Preparing effective posters

Tips for an effective poster presentation:

• Plan: An effective poster requires careful thought and preparation. First, identify one to three principal messages, and then consider the most effective way to convey those points. Choose a headline to help highlight each message. Your poster should be self-explanatory so that you are free to answer questions and expand on particular points.
• Text: Your poster text should be easily readable, and the design well-organized. Use a font size between 24–32 points for the body text. Text that is too small is the most common problem in poster design. Keep the text succinct.
• Graphics: Summarize current research with clear and self-explanatory graphics, including charts, tables, micrographs, diagrams, etc. Simple use of color can add emphasis.
• Title: Prepare a heading at the top of your poster that includes the abstract title, authors, and affiliations. Use 72–100 points font on the title to be read easily from a reasonable distance. Authors may opt to include a picture of themselves to allow people to find them to discuss their work after the day of their presentation.
• Introduction: Provide background on why the problem is important to encourage other registrants to read more. 
• Methods: Details of methodology should be brief and placed at the end of the legend.
• Conclusion: Many successful posters provide a bulleted list of conclusions and questions raised.
• References: Some references should be provided, but they need not be as extensive as those in papers.
• Accessibility: We encourage presenters to use color-blind-friendly palettes and accessible fonts. An online tool such as Coblis will help you prepare posters that are more accessible to all.

For increased accessibility, authors are encouraged to include a QR code to a digital version of their poster. This may also link to a folder which includes additional resources, reference documents, and/or other items at the author’s discretion.

Uploading poster files to the App

Presenters may upload a PDF version of their poster to the Conference App using the personalized link that will be sent via email from alerts@ATIVsoftware.com with the subject line “Invitation to Add Content to Worm  2025.” We suggest you add alerts@ATIVsoftware.com to your email contacts to ensure the message does not end up in your junk folder.

Posters will be made available to all conference registrants via the App between June 24 and July 31. Attendees can leave questions for you in the App, so be sure to check the “Discussion” section at the bottom of your poster entry by June 24.

You can view a sample Poster in a test App to get a sense of how attendees will view your poster file. Read instructions for viewing sample Virtual Poster ≫

Poster upload invitation sent to presenters: June 17

Poster upload deadline: June 24, 8:00 p.m. EDT

File size limit: 10 MB

Browser requirement: Latest version of Google Chrome

PDF poster preparation tips

• Your PDF file must be smaller than 10 MB. For maximum accessibility by all attendees, we recommend making the file as small as possible.
• The poster will be displayed as a single page.
• Remember that people will be viewing the poster on a computer screen. To aid legibility, we recommend using large font sizes and a landscape page orientation. As a reference, many laptops have a screen aspect ratio of 16:9; so for example, this ratio would match a 36″ high by 64″ wide physical poster.
• Viewers will be able to zoom in to inspect any part of your poster, but there is no scroll function. For this reason, we do not recommend long, portrait-orientated posters.
• Divide the poster into discrete, well-labeled sections (large font size) to help people follow along while listening to the audio overview.
• You can read more tips on how to create virtual posters in this article from the app developers.
• You can view a sample virtual poster (PDF with audio) in a test App to get a sense of how attendees will view your poster file. Instructions for viewing sample virtual poster ≫

Upload PDF

• Ensure you are using Chrome as your web browser.
• Click the “Portal Login” link in the email from alerts@ATIVsoftware.com, which will be sent on June 17.
• Log in to the portal using your registration badge number and last name. You can find your badge number in your conference registration confirmation email, which was sent from the address NoReply@Convention-Mail.com.
• Click on the blue plus sign next to “Virtual Poster” to upload your PDF.
• It may take a few minutes for the upload to complete, depending on your internet connection.
• After uploading your PDF, you can record an audio overview, if desired.
• If you don’t want to include audio with your poster, simply click “Done” without recording.

Recording poster audio

When you upload your poster PDF, you have the option to record a two-minute audio overview that attendees can listen to while they view your poster on the App. Because the file is limited to two minutes in length, we recommend you practice your timing before you start recording. You must use the web browser Google Chrome for uploading your poster and recording audio.

• After you upload your PDF file, click the red microphone button to record your audio.
• When you’ve finished, click the stop button.
• You can replay the audio using the blue play icon or delete the file and start again using the trashcan icon.
• Press the “Done” button once you are happy with the recording.

Audio overview tips

• You can’t describe every aspect of your poster in two minutes; you should instead provide an overview of key points and highlights that will encourage viewers to learn more by reading your poster or attending your live session.
• As you discuss different parts of your poster, refer to the sections using their titles, so that viewers can focus on the relevant part of your poster.
• Practice the timing to make sure you can cover your key points within the allowed two minutes.
• Speak slowly and clearly to ensure you are easily understood, including by attendees whose first language is not English.
• For best audio quality, use a headset or external microphone if possible.

Privacy and recordings

All presentations will be available for registered attendees to view online until July 31, 2025. Although sharing of results without permission is a violation of the Code of Conduct, you should be aware that we cannot monitor whether attendees take photographs, screenshots, audio recordings, or video recordings during your presentation.

Code of Conduct

All registrants agree to abide by the GSA Conferences Code of Conduct. Our Code of Conduct was established to communicate a transparent set of standards and guidelines for acceptable behavior at GSA Conferences and to provide a positive, safe, and welcoming environment for all attendees. Note that all sessions will be moderated and actively monitored for disruptive behavior. Any attendees disrupting the session will be removed from the webinar by technical support staff.