Call for Abstracts

Present your work at the 49th FEBS Congress!

The Congress organizers are pleased to invite you to submit an abstract for consideration for the 49th FEBS Congress. Abstracts must be submitted via the Congress website's participant portal. Abstract topics can be seen here.  

Abstracts submitted by the deadline of 13 March 2025 can be considered for oral presentations as Short Talks of 15 mins and Speed Talks of 3 mins (both integrated into the Symposia), and for poster presentations. Posters will be organized by topic, and opportunities for presenters to discuss their work with interested participants will be provided by designated poster sessions in the Congress schedule. FEBS Press Poster Prizes will be awarded during the event.

Accepted abstracts will be displayed on the Congress website and app, and published in an online supplement of FEBS Open Bio after the event. The FEBS Open Bio supplement will be indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection.

Important points

Research abstracts

• Abstracts must be submitted in English. 
• Abstracts must report new or recent substantive scientific results in the molecular life sciences from the lab(s) of the author(s). 
• At least some findings unpublished at the time of abstract submission should be included. Where previously published results are also presented as part of the main findings (rather than only for context), this should be work published no more than 18 months before the 13 March 2025 abstract submission deadline (i.e. 13 September 2023). Any prior publication should be cited in the abstract (see Step-by-Step Guide below).
• The presenting author of the abstract must complete registration by 13 March 2025 to ensure abstract assessment for talks and bursaries.
• Each registrant can submit only one research abstract for evaluation.
• The same abstract cannot be submitted by different delegates. 

Education abstracts

• Abstracts are also invited on 'Molecular life sciences education'. These should preferably report research findings on aspects of teaching/learning, but other original contributions to current topics in education and career development are also welcome.
• Each registrant can submit only one education abstract for evaluation, but may submit both a research and an education abstract from the same registration.
• Other general points stated for research abstracts also apply to education abstracts.

Assessment and screening

Abstracts will be assessed by Symposia Chairs and members of the Organizing Committee, with support from FEBS Press editorial staff.

• All abstracts submitted to the Congress will be screened for relevance to the Congress’ scientific content, and for presentation. Abstracts not meeting the quality standards will not be accepted.
• Abstracts submitted for consideration for oral presentation will be assessed for scientific quality, novelty and the fit with the Congress subtopics.
• Abstract assessments as well as CVs will be considered in the appraisal of Congress bursary applications.

Notification of outcomes of assessment for oral presentation and FEBS Congress bursaries, and confirmation of acceptance of abstracts to the Congress, are expected to be available in mid April 2025.

Deadlines

• YSF Abstract Submission deadline: 12 December 2024
• FEBS Sprinzl scheme Abstract Submission deadline: 30 January 2025
• FEBS Bursary Abstract submission deadline: 13 March 2025
  
• Main Abstract Submission deadline: 13 March 2025
• Registration deadline for abstract submitters: 13 March 2025

Except for abstracts accepted for the YSF, abstract submission AND paid registration of the presenting author must be complete by 13 March 2025 to ensure assessment of abstracts for talks and bursaries.

Abstracts submitted to the FEBS Young Scientists’ Forum (YSF)

Abstracts submitted as an application to the YSF are assessed by the YSF Organizing Committee. As explained on the YSF Applications page, abstracts must be submitted through the Congress online participant portal by the earlier deadline of 12 December, and editing of abstracts accepted for the YSF is not possible after this date. Note that abstracts accepted to the YSF are also accepted for presentation at the Congress, and all other Congress abstract submission requirements, as detailed in the ‘important points’ above and the step-by-step guide below, apply also to YSF abstracts. For more information on YSF abstract submission and assessment, please see YSF Applications.

FEBS 2025 Abstract Submission System Step-by-Step Guide

1. After logging in, select the 'Abstract' tab on the top menu of your participant account on the Congress website.
2. Abstract track and oral presentation consideration: 
   ● Only invited speakers should select the Plenary Lecture, Symposia and Special Session tracks. All other submissions must be into the Posters tracks (‘Posters – Research’ and ‘Posters – Education’; please take care you select the right one).
   ● If you would like your abstract submitted into the Poster track to be considered for presentation as a Short Talk or Speed Talk, please answer 'Yes' to one or both questions asking about these oral presentation options. Presenters whose abstracts are accepted for Short and Speed Talks will be integrated into the Symposia schedules; those accepted as Speed Talks will also be presented as Posters; and all remaining eligible oral presentation submissions will be accepted as Posters.
3. Abstract Topic: Please choose carefully the most relevant abstract topic from the drop-down menu.
4. Title: Your abstract title should be short and informative, and must not exceed 200 characters. It must be written in ‘sentence case’ – capitalise only the first letter and any words or abbreviations that must be capitalised, e.g. Revisiting the Staphylococcus aureus SarA regulon by high-throughput screening. Do not write your title in all capital letters.
5. Authors and Institutions: These must be added into the special fields for this information, for the presenting author and each co-author – do not add any author details into the abstract body.
   ● Add authors by using the 'Add/Edit Author' button. The presenting author can be changed by clicking the ‘Edit Author’ button of the preferred author and by choosing ‘Yes’ for ‘Presenter’ field. The order of authors can also be changed by editing the ‘Numerical Order’ of an author. There is also an option to indicate an equal author contribution from particular authors, which will be shown by an asterisk on the author names. Author names will be automatically formatted in the following style: A. Smith, B. Jones, etc.
   ● The author's workplace address must be added for every author listed – use the Add/Edit Author's Workplace(s) button for this. If selecting from suggested institute addresses in the dropdown workplace list, which is derived from other abstract submissions, ensure the details are correct for your affiliation; type a new entry instead if needed. Please check that your city and country are not repeated in the author and address display on your abstract pdf. 
6. Abstract Body: 
   a. Your abstract body can have a maximum of 2000 characters (with formatting and spaces). The first sentences should provide the background of the work. This should be followed by the experimental details, with a conclusion of one or two sentences. The abstract body should be presented as one single paragraph – do not use paragraph returns or subheadings.
   b. Please use the text field to type the abstract body only. The text can also be copied and pasted into this field, but if this method is used we recommend that the text is pasted as plain text. Editing tools are provided for formatting; see note 6c. Please use the ‘Preview’ button to obtain a pdf of your abstract and check the final format of your abstract body carefully.
   c. Special characters can be added using the ‘Special Character’ choice under ‘Insert’ tab. Superscript (x²) and subscript (x₂) characters can be formatted using the relevant selection under the ‘Format’ tab. Take care not to use I (cap i) or l (ell) for 1 (one), O (capital o) for 0 (zero) or ß (German esszett) for β (beta). 
   d. Use standard abbreviations for units of measure; other abbreviations should be spelled out in full at first mention, followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis (exceptions: RNA, DNA, etc.).
   e. Tables, charts or other figures are not permitted.
   f. Reference citations should be given where previously published results are presented. Up to three citations are permitted. Please use the style: 'Previously published in: Madak JT et al. (2018) J Med Chem 61, 5162–5186'. Citations will be included in the 2000-character limit.
   g. Do not include any keywords or commercial advertising.
7. Editing and submission: You can edit your abstract through the online system as you wish before your submission deadline, clicking 'Save' to keep your abstract as a draft. Ahead of clicking Submit, ensure you have saved the latest version of your abstract, and check it by clicking the ‘Preview’ button to obtain a pdf file of the abstract. Proofread all parts of your abstract very carefully and ensure all details are correct ahead of submission: editing or other changes to your abstract are not possible after you have clicked Submit. When you are happy with your abstract showing in the Preview file, ensure you click 'Submit' ahead of your deadline to submit the abstract to the Congress.
8. Abstract display: The accepted abstracts will be displayed on the Congress website and Congress app, and collated in an online supplement of FEBS Open Bio. The presenting author will be required to check a box in the online system indicating consent from all abstract authors to submission of the abstract to the event, and posting through these channels. Abstracts will be published in FEBS Open Bio under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that FEBS Open Bio is cited as the original source. The Authors retain copyright. If the abstract was prepared by a United States Government employee(s) as part of their official duties, it cannot be copyrighted and may be copied without restriction.