Abstract submission will open early to mid-January. 

Please see descriptions below for recommended abstract lengths. All entries are limited to 2,000 characters. For more information on submission guidelines and evaluation rubrics, see the Abstracts page. 

Oral presentations: Oral presentations will showcase ideas and projects at various stages of development. Emphasis is on communicating robust findings using tried and tested instruments and protocols, as well as novel pedagogical approaches. If this work has been presented at a previous SABER meeting, please be sure that the submitted abstract contains significant novel information. Recommended abstract length is under 250 words. These presentations will be 12 minutes long, plus 3 minutes for questions.

Posters: Posters should describe work that has not been published. Content may include research or pedagogy of interest to undergraduate biology educators. Abstracts (recommended 200 words max) will be accepted up until Mid-April with registration. Poster regulations: Maximum size of 36 inches wide x 48 inches high.

Shark Tank: 

Shark Tank will be a 3-minute, 1-slide presentation with a panel of experts to ask additional questions and give feedback. This session is frequently mentioned by attendees to be one of their most enjoyable. There will be a prize for audience favorite shark tank presentation, and an opportunity for presenters to receive anonymous feedback from the audience as well as from the expert panel. Abstract should be short (~100 words) and no data is needed. The purpose of this type of presentation is for graduate students, postdocs, or early career individuals to get feedback on ideas where they might not yet have much data (for example, talks centered on thesis proposals, dissertation proposals, or grant/project proposals). Priority will be given to trainee presentations, when selecting proposals. See quote from former participant:

“The Shark Tank competition at SABER East was an amazing experience. As a second-year PhD student, it gave me the opportunity to really challenge myself intellectually, creatively, and communicatively. The SABER East community is super supportive and the judges asked questions in ways that helped me think more deeply about the impacts of my idea. Participating in the competition gave me valuable insight into how biology education researchers think about and react to emotions in science education, and I ended up publishing my Shark Tank idea in a CBE-Life Sciences publication. I truly encourage trainees to utilize the Shark Tank competition as a tool for professional development among a community that builds you up if/when you make mistakes as opposed to tearing you down and making you feel incompetent.”  - Ash Tea (2024 winner)

Workshops:  Workshops may be oriented toward researchers or practitioners. Longer (4-hour) workshops will take place on Wednesday before the main conference, and shorter (1.5-hour) workshops will take place on Thursday during the conference. Proposals for workshops should outline the learning objectives of the session, describe the activities, and make it clear to a participant what their main takeaways will be. A short biographical sketch outlining the qualifications of the presenter should be included. You may include up to three supplemental files. These are not required for submission, but could include materials you have already prepared or a publication on which the workshop is based, for example.