NEW!! Post-Transcriptional Gene Regulation in Plants (PGRP) Conference
July 25-26, 2013 - Providence, Rhode Island, immediately following Plant Biology 2013

ASPB Minisymposia Selection Process

The Plant Biology format includes around six major symposia and up to 30 minisymposia based primarily on the abstracts submitted under the topic categories. The Program Committee determines the titles and contents of the minisymposia after reviewing the submitted abstracts. Poster presentations are also expected for those abstracts selected for presentation in minisymposia.

How Minisymposia Are Created

1. Minisymposia (minis) are created during the review of the abstracts by the Program Committee. Between 400-800 abstracts are typically submitted and around 110 of those are selected for minis.
2. The Program Committee members (and partnering society committee members, if relevant) are given online access to the abstracts after the submission deadline.
3. Committee members are assigned specific abstract topics to review based on their areas of expertise, with multiple committee members covering each area (review team).
4. Mini topics and speakers are selected by the committee at a full day meeting within two to three weeks of the abstract submission deadline.
5. Each review team gathers their potential abstracts and creates potential mini topics based on the number and quality of abstracts in specific categories. Some mini topics are derived directly from an abstract submission category and some new topics are created from a combination of categories based on related topics.
6. Reviewers are also given a list of past mini speakers to ensure the reviewers choose different people and vary the science each year if possible.
7. Selections made by each review team are discussed among the entire committee, and as a result, the minis topics are created.
8. In addition to excellent science, many factors are considered during selection, including diversity of speakers, the audience at the annual meeting locality, the inclusion of international researchers, and speaker variety from year to year.
9. During the selection process, reviewers consider which of the authors on the abstract should serve as the speaker, with an emphasis on selecting a student from the submitting lab/authors. Typically, one PI from the selected abstracts in a mini topic is requested to chair the session. The duty of the chair is to introduce the minisymposium speakers and keep all speakers on time.
10. The minis are scheduled to avoid overlap or conflicts between related topics.
11. Speakers are notified the next week via email that they've been selected. If they accept, they are given instructions for the format of their presentation. If a speaker does not accept, an alternative is then chosen by the same committee members who reviewed that category of abstracts.
12. Minisymposium speakers and chairs do not receive funding from ASPB for travel or registration fees. As an exception, there will be several speakers invited to lead pre-determined thematic mini-symposia in 2013.
13. Speakers are provided access to a special abstract submission entry to submit an extended abstract for the program book if they so choose. Speakers are encouraged to broaden their presentation beyond the typically narrow focus of the poster abstract to make their presentation more accessible to a wider audience. All speakers are expected to present a poster based on their original abstract in addition to speaking in the mini. .
14. Once mini speakers are confirmed, they are added to the online schedule.

Exceptions to this process are the Education and Outreach Minisymposium and the Minority Affairs Symposium

• The Education Minisymposium is selected by the ASPB Education Committee. They select speakers either directly and/or from the submitted abstracts to the education category. The Broader Impacts statement is also considered when selecting speakers for their minisymposium.
• The Minority Affairs Symposium consists of invited speakers by the ASPB Minority Affairs Committee. Its format is similar to a major symposium but it is scheduled concurrently with minisymposium.

Additional Facts:

1. Individuals may suggest a mini topic and a list of potential speakers via a provided form. The potential speakers for a designated mini are required to submit abstracts via the regular submission process, and a final decision on the proposal is not made until the Program Committee reviews the abstracts at their regular meeting and weighs the merit of the proposal against the other potential mini topics generated from the regular abstracts.
2. Researchers whose work could fall into more than one poster category can select a main topic and a secondary topic. The abstract will be considered in both categories for inclusion in a mini. The poster will be presented in the main poster category.
3. Groups or individuals wanting to present a workshop at the meeting should submit their request with details via a provided form. Workshops will be expected to pay for room rental (if applicable) and audio/visual plus any labor charges incurred, in addition to a potential management fee. Workshops will be reviewed by the Program Committee for inclusion in the annual meeting. Scheduling and space are important factors in the decision process, and early submissions are strongly encouraged.