For Presenters

This page includes links to author assignments, instructions, and resources for those presenting posters or talks at the meeting.

Workshop presenters should consult their session chair directly for presentation instructions. You will not use the instructions below.

Author Assignments

Author Abstract Assignments are available now. View assignments >>

Presenter Information

Presenter Guidelines

Oral Presenter Guidelines ≫

Poster Presenter Guidelines ≫

Presenter FAQs ≫

Oral Presenter Guidelines

There are two main types of oral presentations:

Award Presentations will have a 2 minute introduction followed by a 25 minute presentation and 3 minutes for question and answer. This timing applies only to the invited speakers below:

Ira Herskowitz Award
Lee Hartwell Lecture
Winge-Lindegren Address
YGM Lifetime Achievement Award

Oral presentations are selected by the Program Committee and Organizers after a careful review of submitted abstracts in a each topic. Talks are a total of 14 minutes (11-minute presentation followed by 3 minutes of Q&A and 1 minute for transition between speakers) for each presenter.

Speaker Check-in

All plenary session speakers must check-in at the Speaker Ready Check in Desk in the back of Merrill Hall the day before their presentation to upload and test their slides. You will not be able to upload your presentation on the computer at the podium in the meeting room.

Bring your presentation on a flash drive in any format. You will be able to test the equipment and view your slides. Technical support will be there to help you. Your slides will be available on the computer at the podium in the session room after you visit the Speaker Check in Desk.

Important Notes:

All speakers should arrive 20 minutes before the start of their session to check in with the Session Chairs
Projection will be 16:9 format
Presenters will use the computer mouse, not a laser pointer, so that attendees can see which part of your presentation you are referencing when they watch the recording.
File name: Your presentation file should be labeled with the following information: presentation number, surname, and weekday

The Speaker Ready Check-in Desk will be open at the following times:
Saturday, June 13: 4:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 14: 7:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Monday, June 15: 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, June 16: 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Timing

To keep the session on time, the session chair may alert you as follows:

After 11 minutes, “3 minute remains, start Q&A”
After 13 minutes and 30 seconds, “30 seconds remain, wrap up”
After 14 minutes, “STOP”

You will not be able to upload your talk on the computer at the podium.

Technical support

Speaker upload details. On the day of your session, technical support will be monitoring your presentation from the Speaker Check-in Desk. There will also be a large help button on the podium that you can hit if you run into a problem.

Presentation Day and Time

You can look up your presentation time on the Author Abstract Assignments page. All presentation times are shown in Pacific Daylight Time.

Presenter Registration

You must register for the conference by April 16 to confirm your participation.

Preparing Effective Oral Presentations
Projection will be 16:9 format. 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.

Keep visuals clear and easy to read. Embed your fonts. SIMPLE graphs, charts and diagrams are much more meaningful to an audience than complex cluttered ones.
Avoid using too many patterns and graphics in one frame.
Use a minimum of words for text and title frames. Five to six lines per frame and five to seven words per line are the maximum suggested. Less is more.
Use upper and lower case lettering, which is more legible than all capital letters.
Vary the size of lettering to emphasize headings and subheadings, but avoid using more than three sizes per frame.
Select a sans serif font (example: Arial) which projects better and is easier to read than a font with serifs.
Maintain the same or similar type sized from frame to frame, even if some frames have less copy than others.
Keep all type horizontal, even in charts.
Consider color with care. A dark background with highly contrasting text and graphics is most readable. Cool colors (example: deep blue, turquoise, purple) appear to recede and make white or light colored text more readable. Do not use red for text; it is extremely difficult to read.
Highlight your main point or heading with a dominant color (example: yellow for the heading, white for body text). Avoid the use of intensely bright or saturated colors that compete with the text.
Maintain a consistent color scheme. Use no more than six colors throughout your presentation.
Select backgrounds to enhance your text or graphics.
Remember the basics of good design: Plan a template. Use colors consistently with light fonts on a dark background. Keep text clear and easy to read.

Question and Answer

There will be audience microphones for the attendees to ask questions.

Presentation Device

You will use the computer at the podium for your presentation. You will not be able to use your own computer.

Recordings and Privacy

All oral presentations will be recorded and made available to registrants through July 17, 2026. Sharing of results without permission is a violation of the Code of Conduct. Please be aware that we cannot monitor whether attendees take photographs, screenshots, audio recordings, or video recordings of your presentation.

Code of Conduct

All registrants agreed to abide by the GSA Conferences Code of Conduct when they registered for the conference. The GSA 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.

Poster Presenter Guidelines

Most submitted abstracts will be scheduled as posters. Authors will be assigned a designated time to present their posters. Posters should be no larger than 46” (inches) wide by 44″ inches high.

To find out your specific day and time for your presentation, please access your poster number at the author assignments page. The schedule, based on the letter accompanying your poster number, is listed below.

Poster Presentations

Poster Session Schedule – Important Notice: All posters will display for the entire conference. Please display your poster on your board by noon on Sunday, June 14.

Sunday, June 14

7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. – Odd-numbered posters

8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. – Even-numbered posters

9:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. – Open Viewing

Monday, June 15

7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. – Odd-numbered posters

8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. – Even-numbered posters

9:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. – Open Viewing

Tuesday, June 16

10:00 p.m. – Posters must be removed. Any remaining posters will be discarded.

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 conference site. You must be wearing your official meeting badge to enter the exhibits and posters.

IMPORTANT: Poster Size and Format

Posters for the in-person session should be no larger than 46” wide by 44″ high. The GSA staff, facility staff, and personnel breaking down the boards will not be responsible for posters left up by their authors. Please remove your poster promptly after your session concludes. Posters that are not removed in a timely fashion will be recycled.

If a presenter is unable to attend their poster at their designated time, GSA asks that they find an alternate person to present in their absence. GSA will place a sign on your poster board that will include your poster number along with two other poster numbers (the other two posters listed will use the same board space on different days). Please do NOT move the sign indicating poster numbers and times on the board.

GSA’s Code of Conduct states that photos should not be taken without the presenter’s permission.

Preparing effective posters

Here are some tips for ensuring your poster presentation is effective:

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.
An effective poster requires careful thought and preparation. It is not sufficient to enlarge an abstract and add a few figures. First identify your one, two, or three principal messages. Then work out the most effective way to convey those points and 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.
Your poster text should be easily readable and the design well organized. Use a type size that can be read easily at a distance. Text that is too small is the most common problem in poster design. Keep the text succinct.
Summarize current research with clear and self-explanatory graphics: charts, tables, micrographs, diagrams, etc. Simple use of color can add emphasis.
Prepare a heading at the top of your poster indicating the abstract title, authors, and affiliations. Make the title large enough to be read easily from a reasonable distance (~4 feet). 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.
Details of methodology should be brief and placed at the end of the legend.
Many successful posters provide a bulleted list of conclusions and questions raised.
Some references should be provided, but they need not be as extensive as those in papers.