Eligibility and Selection Process

Eligibility

• North American-based junior faculty, fellows, and postdoctoral researchers (MDs, DOs, and PhDs) involved in immuno-oncology research.
• Junior Faculty (Instructor or Assistant Professor not more than 5 years from first faculty appointment)
  • Clinician Scientist (MD/DO ± PhD in active patient care and conducting any lab-based or clinical research)
  • Research Scientist (MD/DO and/or PhD conducting full time lab- based research) 
• Fellows and Postdoctoral Researchers (Must be enrolled in an ACGME-accredited fellowship program or have completed a PhD program within the past 5 years.
  • Clinical Fellow (MD/DO ± PhD conducting any clinical or lab-based research in immuno-oncology)

• Candidates must be based in North America and training must be completed at a North American-based institution.
• Candidates are not eligible to apply if they have previously participated in the IOYIF unless they attended as a fellow and have moved to a Junior Faculty position.
• All work must be unpublished original research in an area related to immuno- oncology. Please note: publication of research as an abstract alone does not preclude eligibility; however, an abstract will not be accepted if it has been published as a full manuscript before May 5, 2021.
• Abstracts to be presented at future medical meetings are eligible for submission.

Abstract Policies & Procedures

Only one abstract submission per young investigator will be accepted. Abstracts must conform exactly to the abstract preparation instructions. Those that do not may be rejected. Only original work completed by the young investigator will be accepted. All accepted abstracts will be published in an electronic program to be provided to all attendees. The publication of electronic handout materials will not preclude publication or presentation elsewhere.

Please note that all Young Investigator contact information will be shared with the Society for Immunotherapy in Cancer (SITC), our educational partner. SITC presentations for future submission and review for the SITC Annual Meeting (or related events) and for publication right-of-first-refusal in the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, the official journal of SITC. 

Submission deadline is Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Expert Faculty Judges will review all submissions. The top 35 abstracts will be accepted.

Authors of the abstracts selected for presentation at the Forum will be expected to present their research according to their status at the time the research was completed (i.e., if research was conducted during fellowship training, it will be presented in the Fellows category).

All presentations will be podium format and will consist of a 10 minute formal presentation with PowerPoint slides and a 10 minute question-and-answer period.

Finalists

The finalists (authors of accepted abstracts) will be provided with the following:

• One round-trip, non-refundable, economy-class airline ticket, if outside the Houston area.
• A ground transportation stipend, or mileage reimbursement, for transfers to and from the program hotel in Houston.
• 3 nights lodging (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) at The Houstonian Hotel. All group buffet meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) for the duration of the meeting.
• Individualized presentation skills coaching.

Items that will not be covered include:

• Ground transportation to and from home airport
• Meals en route 

Please note: Expenses for accompanying travelers will not be provided. Guests are not permitted to attend any portion of the meeting, including buet meals. All travel arrangements will be made through a travel coordinator with Creative Educational Concepts.

Awards

An awards ceremony will be held on Saturday evening, July 31, 2021, at which time financial grants will be awarded to the first-, second-, and third-place winners in each of the categories. The recipients of the two $10,000 Immuno-Oncology Distinguished Young Investigator Research Awards (Junior Faculty) will also be announced at this time. Grant payments will be made to the affiliated institution of each winning Young Investigator aer the live program date.