BACD will shortly be calling for abstracts for presentation at the 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting in the following categories:

Original Research or Quality Improvement

Novel Multi-Disciplinary Team Working - showcasing innovative MDT working practices with clear purpose and impact of the different roles on clinical practice and for patients and their families

Mac Keith Press Prizes The best oral presentation will win a cash prize of £350 and the best poster presentation will win £200 of Mac Keith Press vouchers.

Abstract Scoring Criteria All abstracts are reviewed blind and scored against set criteria:

  • Originality and Novelty
    • very novel/new information will score highly; 
      • no new information presented will score poorly
  • Evaluation/ Results linked to Conclusion
    • well presented results in good detail with entirely appropriate conclusions will score highly;
    • no results or no relevant conclusions will score poorly
  • Importance of Findings/ Relevance to Clinical Practice and/or Families
    • findings which are very relevant and important will score highly
    • if an audit, the cycle must be completed to score
    • where no relevance or incomplete audit cycle will score poorly
  • Quality of Abstract
    • all areas covered clearly and in sufficient details will score highly
    • very poor structure with important areas omitted will score poorly

In addition, Novel MDT abstracts are also scored against:

  • Description of Intervention
    • full description of intervention will score highly
    • no description of intervention will score poorly
  • Multi-Disciplinary Approach
    • excellent description of the team and the working practices will score highly
    • described as multi-disciplinary but no evidence in abstract will score poorly

If selected for Presentation

  • At least one named author must register to attend the ASM in person in Sheffield to present. 
  • Undergraduate students and foundation doctors selected will receive free registration to attend and present their poster.
  • Those selected for poster presentation are required to provide a PDF of their poster 2 weeks before the event so that all posters can be viewed by all delegates, both in person and virtual.
  • The Mac Keith Press prizes for best oral and best poster presentation will be announced at the end of the conference on Wednesday 11 March 2026.

Key Dates

  • 3 October - abstract submission open
  • 9 December 2025 - abstract submission closes
  • 13 January 2026 - abstracts selected for poster presentation confirmed
  • 23 February 2026 - poster presenter to register for in-person conference and submit PDF of poster
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