Submission Instructions

The abstract submitter for papers and posters is now closed.

Paper/poster abstract status (accepted or rejected) will be sent by email to Submitting Authors by the end of July.

It is the responsibility of the Submitting Author to contact the Academy if notification is not received by the end of July.

General Information

Abstract Submission

Complete all three required sections of the abstract submission. Failure to complete the required fields will result in an incomplete abstract. Incomplete abstracts cannot be reviewed.

Completed submissions will be anonymously graded by the Reviewers of the Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC). Name(s) of author(s) and statements of affiliation are not allowed in the title or abstract text.

Prepare the abstract components in advance. Submissions are assessed for presentation and the quality of the abstract. Review the Frequently Asked Questions and Submission Policies for more information.

The online application will not work well with Firefox, Safari or older versions of Internet Explorer. For the best results, use the most recent version of Chrome. You can download Chrome for free.

Timing Out: The submission site only saves the abstract when the author selects “Continue” at the end of each page. The system will time out after 20 minutes and will not save ANY of the text entered unless the save feature was used. To keep edits, save frequently and click back to the section you are working on using the navigation on the left.

Once the submission is complete, a PDF is generated. Download and save this document for your records. Re-save if changes are made.

Keeping a record and backup of the submission is advised. Abstracts can be accessed and edited until the deadline, there is no "final submit" button. When making updates, be sure that the submission is not made incomplete or it cannot be passed through for review. 

Presentation Format

AAO 2023 will include both in-person and virtual content. All abstracts are reviewed as potential paper or poster presentations with the AMPC making the final decision. Accepted abstracts may be scheduled as an in-person presentation or are available on demand through the virtual platform. Submitting authors may wish to limit their abstract to paper only or e-poster only. If this option is selected and the author preference cannot be met, the abstract will be rejected. Abstracts with no limit have the best chance of being accepted.

The selection committee gives greater priority to work that is groundbreaking, will impact practice patterns or has clinical implications.

In-Person Presentation

Following are types of presentations that are in-person, scheduled events at AAO 2023. Presenters of in-person presentations will be required to register for and attend AAO 2023.

Original Paper: The AMPC chooses submissions to be presented as papers based on originality, clinical relevance, comprehensiveness and as a stimulus for prepared discussion. Original scientific paper presentations will be followed by a live panel and audience discussion. Paper presenters MUST prepare a condensed manuscript for the panelist 4 weeks before the meeting. Accepted paper presenters will be sent instructions and the condensed manuscript form. The Academy does not allow one person to present two papers within the same Original Paper session. If an author has two scientific papers scheduled for the same session, an alternate speaker must present one of the papers. The BEST paper for each session will be selected by the panel and announced at the end of the session.

Abstracts limited to Paper Only can only be considered for an in-person Original Paper presentation.

Poster Theater: All poster presenters are required to upload an electronic poster prior to the meeting. In addition, some posters are scheduled for an in-person presentation at the Poster Theater. During the presentation, the e-poster is displayed on a large monitor. A short, moderated audience question period follows each speaker.

Poster Discussion: All poster presenters are required to upload an electronic poster prior to the meeting. In addition, some posters are selected for poster discussions. During the poster discussion, the group is led by peer-presenters using their electronic poster. The individual presentations are 3 minutes followed by a 3-minute discussion with the total session lasting 30-minutes. Each poster group is selected because the combination of topics creates a cohesive session.

On Demand Presentation

All accepted posters are presented electronically and included as part of the On Demand virtual platform. Unless the poster is scheduled for the in-person Poster Theater or Poster Discussion format, the authors are not required to register for or attend the meeting. ePoster only authors should prepare their presentations in advance and add an audio track to enhance their findings during the pre-meeting poster upload.

The AMPC chooses submissions to be presented as posters if they are single case studies, instrument reports with graphic material, have clinical photographs or concepts which lend themselves well to contemplation, or do not require an in-depth scheduled discussion following the presentation. Abstracts limited to ePoster Only can only be considered as an On Demand format.

Paper/e-poster abstracts submitted under the following categories will be considered as ePOSTER ONLY since there are no live presentation sessions for these topics:

• Electronic Health Records, Information Technology
• Ethics
• General Medical
• Global Ophthalmology
• Medical Education
• Ophthalmic History
• Vision Rehabilitation
• Wellness

Submission

There is no SUBMIT BUTTON. Abstracts that are COMPLETE by the deadline will be forwarded for review. Authors can return to abstracts as often as needed to edit before the deadline but should be sure the status is COMPLETE when closing out for the final time.

Title

The title of an abstract may not exceed 120 characters.

Do not bold, underline or italicize the title. Use title case when entering your abstract (both upper and lowercase letters as appropriate). No special formatting is needed.

Is the title descriptive of the abstract? Does the title avoid gratuitous statements and irrelevant information? Name(s) of author(s) and statements of affiliation are not allowed in the title or the abstract. Abstract review is anonymous.

Overview

Topic Selection

Please refer to the list of main subject classifications. More specific topics are listed under these main classifications. Be as specific as possible when making your selection; you may only select one topic.

Abstract Body

The title should NOT be added to the abstract body text field; it is redundant and will use up valuable space. The following headings with formatting are required for paper/poster submissions and are pre-populated in the online application:

Purpose:    Methods:    Results:    Conclusion:

The final abstract body should appear as one full paragraph with NO hard returns after each section.

Case reports are accepted for review. If the abstract reports on a single case study or is a video abstract, the headings are not required.

When you write your abstract, ask yourself: is the abstract as specific as possible? The following are frequently forgotten: sample size, study duration and follow-up, and descriptions of the novel and non-standard techniques used. Abstracts with statements such as "will be done," "will be studied," "will be underway," "will be analyzed," will not be selected. Abstracts cannot be appended past the April deadline.

The character count for the abstract body is 1000 characters not including spaces. This is approximately 250 words. The built-in character counting feature will indicate when the abstract is too long, and the submission cannot be completed.

The online submitter application will automatically recognize and count hidden formatting embedded within the abstract. Text that is copy/pasted into the abstract body field often has this issue. To avoid exceeding the character limits, paste only simple text. Use the formatting features above the text box to add symbols and formatting. Remember to save often – click continue at the bottom of the page. Once saved, you can use the left navigation to select the Overview page and continue to edit. NOTE: Authors frequently lose work when typing/editing directly into the Abstract Text box and forgetting to save; the page will time out after 20 minutes. 

Reminders

• Was this abstract proofread?  Concise and clear abstracts are graded well. Misspellings and typographical errors reflect badly on the research.
• When using abbreviations within the abstract text, first include the complete term followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis. Example: Vitreous Loss (VL).

Study Design

A list of study designs is provided. Read through the descriptions and select the one that applies. If the study design is not on the list, select other and enter it in the space provided. Note: Animal studies tend to be rejected.

Précis

Paper/poster submissions require a Précis (500 characters and spaces total) as part of the application. The Précis is a concise summary of the abstract and should not duplicate the conclusion. This text will not be published and is for the use of the selection committee.
Background Statement

Background Statement

Paper/poster submissions require a Background Statement (250 characters and spaces total) as part of the application. This is an opportunity to relay additional information to the selection committee and should not be an exact duplication of the abstract text. The Background Statement is a succinct statement explaining the background of why this study was undertaken or reported. This text will not be published and is for the use of the selection committee.

Authors

Presenter/ Co-author(s)

Each author is limited to two paper/poster submissions as Presenting Author, and inclusion on up to four total abstracts per meeting. The author listed first is considered by the Academy to be the Presenter.

Exception: These limits do not apply to videos, but they are encouraged.

• Changes to author lists will not be allowed after the submission if the change would result in the limits being exceeded.
• The Academy reserves the right to disqualify submissions that exceed these limits.
• If a presenter change is requested, financial disclosures for the proposed presenter will be evaluated by the AMPC before the change is approved. Presentation limits apply to the new presenter.
• Prior to review, presenter changes are accepted from the submitting and presenting author only. Once an abstract is accepted, presenter changes can only be made by the presenter listed. Third party or co-author requests for changes are directed to the person listed as presenter.

Submitting authors are required to provide contact information for all co-authors. Use the lookup feature in the online application to find authors by user/member accounts. If an author cannot be found in the Academy database, provide their full, professional name, as well as an accurate and unique email address. The Academy will contact the author using the email address provided and request that the author create an Academy user account. Please note that an author’s name can only be listed as a co-author if the author has an Academy user account.

Submission policy requires that at least one of the authors is a current member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The submission system can recognize individuals located through the lookup feature and will indicate if there is a member included. Green “Satisfied” text will display at the top of the Author Page when this requirement is met.

Members of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) are invited to submit paper/poster abstracts as a Presenter/Author. The submission must include at least one American Academy of Ophthalmology Fellow or Member or Candidate for Membership as an author. Only optometrists who are members of the American Academy of Optometry and who have been selected for presentation may attend AAO 2023. If optometrists included on an accepted abstract are not members of the American Academy of Optometry, they may not attend AAO 2023.

Other Information

Submitters should be prepared to enter the following information into the application:

• Do any of the authors have relevant financial interest? (YES/NO)
• Is the Presenting Author industry employed? (YES/NO)
• Is the research approved by an IRB or equivalent body? (YES, NO, NOT REQUIRED)
• I verify that the abstract follows submission policy regarding copyright as described in the submission guidelines. (YES/NO)
• I understand that submission of an abstract is an agreement to present as scheduled. If my abstract is accepted as a paper, I will prepare a condensed manuscript four weeks before the annual meeting for the panel and will travel to the meeting to present my paper. If my abstract is accepted as a poster, I will submit an electronic poster by the upload deadline. Additionally, I may be expected to travel to the meeting to participate in a live presentation of my electronic poster in the Poster Theater or Poster Discussion. 

Copyright Policy

The American Academy of Ophthalmology and Ophthalmology journal (including Ophthalmology Retina, Ophthalmology Glaucoma and Ophthalmology Science) have a copyright agreement that gives Ophthalmology the first right of refusal on accepted papers and posters at AAO 2023. Authors submitting to the Academy for review are required to read and follow the policy regarding copyright; failure to do so will jeopardize their chances for presentation. The most important question authors should ask of their submission is: "Can I give Ophthalmology the first right of refusal for this material?"

The Academy holds copyright on all scientific material presented at its annual meeting until and unless such material is found unsuitable for publication in Ophthalmology. Should an author wish to publish their material elsewhere, it may not be submitted for consideration until Ophthalmology has released the presenter from any copyright obligations.

Contact aaojournal@aao.org for questions about the Ophthalmology submission process.

The AMPC gives greater priority to original work. If the research is released by Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology Retina, Ophthalmology Glaucoma and Ophthalmology Science and then approved for publication elsewhere, the material should not appear online or in print until after AAO 2023. See below for further explanation: