GREAT 2026 - ONLINE ABSTRACT SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
GREAT 2026 - Online Abstract Submission Instructions
DEADLINE: February 13, 2026 @ 11 pm
Please note: Your mentor must approve your abstract – please allow time for this review process before the deadline. An automated email will be sent to your mentor outlining the approval process after your abstract has been submitted. All OU mentors should be in the system, but non-OU mentors must request guest logins on the GREAT Login page (apps.ouhsc.edu/great/). Direct questions to Annie Dowdy in the Graduate College: 405-271-2085, or email gradcollege@ouhsc.edu.
Procedure
- Login:
- Select appropriate category from the GREAT Login page (apps.ouhsc.edu/Great/). OU Health Campus students and postdocs can login with a campus network user ID and password. Non-OU Health Campus participants, including OU Norman and OSSM students should request a Guest account.
- Complete ‘PRESENTER INFORMATION’
- Pick your Program (graduate students) or Department (Postdocs). If it is not on the list, choose “Other” and type it in the box.
- Complete ‘PREFERRED CATEGORY OF PRESENTATION’
- Select one response: Oral Presentation only, Poster Presentation only, Flash Talk (FT) only, Oral Presentation AND Flash Talk (FT), Poster Presentation AND Flash Talk (FT). Only one submission per presenter.
- Graduate students, Professional students, and Postdoctoral Fellows may select either oral or poster presentation, and/or Flash Talk.
- Professional Students: Research requirement is at least one semester of dedicated work, conducted as part of practicum or other degree program requirement.
- OSSM students must select Poster Presentation only.
- Complete ‘ABSTRACT INFORMATION’
- Poster Presentation or Oral Title: 250 characters maximum. Insert your presentation/poster title. Avoid using special characters in your title. To enter flash talk title, scroll down below the Abstract field.
- Author Field: 250 words maximum. List all authors as first name and last name; separate names by commas, no academic credentials. Represent affiliations with superscripted numbers.
- Author Field Example:
Natalia Davydova1, Nicole C. Harris2, and Sally Roufai1
1: Department of Cell Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
2: Department of Radiological Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
- Funding: 500 characters maximum. List all funding sources separated by commas.
- Body of Abstract: 300 words maximum. Structured or unstructured abstract format is acceptable but must contain Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusion
Structured Abstract Example
Introduction: A characteristic of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is that abdominal pain is exacerbated during periods of anxiety. Our studies have shown that implantation of corticosterone (CORT) onto the amygdala increases both anxiety and visceral sensitivity. CORT acts through two receptor subtypes, glucocorticoid receptors (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptors (MR); therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the specific receptor-mediated mechanisms in the amygdala that regulate anxiety and visceral sensitivity.
Methods: Rats received implants of either CORT or cholesterol (control) on the dorsal margin of the amygdala. A separate group of animals was implanted with CORT combined with either a GR or a MR antagonist. The hippocampus and striatum were also targeted with CORT to determine the amygdala specificity of the micropellets. Anxiety was assessed on the elevated plus maze and quantified as the time spent in open arm exploration. Visceral sensitivity was measured as the number of abdominal muscle contractions in response to colonic distension.
Results: Implantation of CORT on the amygdala significantly increased anxiety (p<0.01) and visceral sensitivity (p<0.05) compared to cholesterol controls; however, CORT implants outside the amygdala did not affect anxiety or visceral sensitivity. In rats with CORT implants combined with either a GR or MR antagonist, there was a significant (p<0.05) inhibition of anxiety and visceral hypersensitivity.
Conclusion: This is the first study to demonstrate a role for GR and MR in visceral pain regulation and suggests that CORT acting at the level of the amygdala may play an important role in IBS symptomatology.
Unstructured Abstract Example
Cellular immune mechanisms detect and destroy cancerous and infected cells via the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules that present peptides of intracellular origin on the surface of all nucleated cells. The identification of novel, tumor-specific epitopes is a critical step in the development of immunotherapeutics for breast cancer. In order to directly identify peptide epitopes unique to cancerous cells, secreted human class I HLA molecules (sHLA) were constructed by deletion of the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domain of HLA A*0201. The resulting sHLA-A*0201 was transferred and expressed in breast cancer cell lines MCF-7, MDA- MB-231, and BT-20 as well as in the immortal, non-tumorigenic cell line MCF10A. Stable transfectants were seeded into bioreactors for production of > 25 mg of sHLA-A*0201. Peptides eluted from affinity purified sHLA were analyzed by mass spectroscopy. Comparative analysis of HLA-A*0201 peptides revealed 5 previously uncharacterized epitopes uniquely presented on breast cancer cells. These peptides are derived from intracellular proteins with either well-defined or putative roles in breast cancer development and progression: Cyclin Dependent Kinase 2 (Cdk2), Ornithine Decarboxylase (ODC1), Kinetochore Associated 2 (KNTC2 or HEC1), Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF), and Exosome Component 6 (EXOSC6). Cellular recognition of the MIF, KNTC2, EXOSC6, and Cdk2 peptides by circulating CD8+ cells was demonstrated by tetramer staining or IFN-γ ELISPOT. The identification and characterization of peptides unique to the class I of breast cancer cells provide putative targets for the development of immune diagnostic tools and therapeutics.
- Flash Talk (FT) Title (If applicable): 250 characters maximum. Avoid using special characters in your title. Remember, the flash talks are for the broader, non-specialized audience so avoid field-specific jargon. No abstract is required or allowed.
- Faculty Sponsor: Select Graduate Faculty mentor name from pull-down. If your mentor is not listed, they can apply for a guest account on the GREAT Login page or they may contact the Graduate College to be added. (gradcollege@ouhsc.edu).
- Volunteer: Please consider volunteering to help in the execution of events during GREAT week by clicking “Yes” and you will be contacted on volunteering opportunities the week before GREAT.
- Talent Release: Photos will be taken during GREAT to showcase our talented participants. Some photos may be used on the GREAT or Graduate College website(s) and/or corresponding social media sites (i.e. Facebook or Instagram), or in future brochures or other promotional materials. Select “Yes” or “No” to indicate your willingness to allow photos of you during GREAT to be used for these purposes. If you agree, an email will be sent later asking you to complete and sign the Graduate College Talent & Technology Release form.
Poster board dimensions: 3'8" high and 5'8" wide.
Mandatory Sections:
- Title
- Names of the author(s), and affiliated organization(s)
Tips:
- Assume your audience knows little about your field.
- Title should be brief, informative, and attention-getting; may be in the form of a question. Note that this is final and will be listed in the Abstract book.
- Avoid or explain technical terms.
- Make the practical or theoretical implications of your work clear to the audience.
- Overview of findings: no extensive ‘Introduction’ but a clear objective
- Limited text with no exhaustive explanations.
- Illustrations and graphic elements should dominate (e.g., bullets, numbers).
- Results section is the most important (best-placed below title on upper right of poster).
- Short, simple statements with key words first; (e.g., “Bronchoconstriction in asthmatic patients is caused by SO2 in low concentrations,” rather than “Low concentrations of SO2 cause bronchoconstriction in asthmatic patients.”
- Precise, descriptive language: “Mean weight loss for the subjects receiving treatment was 9kg” is much better than “The treatment had a positive effect on weight loss”.
Registration:
- Register at the table outside the Inasmuch Atrium (Bird Library) before mounting your poster.
Poster Mounting:
- Mount your poster on the assigned board in the Inasmuch Atrium (Bird Library), on Monday, April 6 or Tuesday, April 7, depending on your assigned judging session. At registration you will be directed to your poster board.
Judging:
- You will be assigned a presentation time on Monday, April 6 or Tuesday, April 7. You will be notified of your time in advance.
- Your poster will be evaluated by three judges composed of a mixture of subject experts and non-experts.
- Arrive 10 minutes early to your assigned poster spot for judging. A total of 5 minutes will be allowed for you to present your poster with an additional 5 minutes to answer questions from the judges.
- You may find it useful to have on hand a tablet or paper and pen, to help explain your poster during the presentation or jot down notes or suggestions after the presentation.
Poster Viewing and Presentation
- Stand by your poster and present to GREAT attendees during ‘General Poster Viewing’, Monday, April 6 or Tuesday, April 7, from 2:00-3:00 PM based on your assigned date for judging. Non OU Health Campus students are not required to attend the General Poster Viewing.
GREAT Awards Ceremony
- Winners will be announced during the awards ceremony Thursday, April 8.
Poster Removal
- Remove your poster by 5pm on the day of your poster presentation.
Evaluation Request
- You may ask for a copy of the written evaluations of your presentation by emailing the Graduate College at gradcollege@ouhsc.edu or contacting Annie Dowdy (Annie-N-Dowdy@ouhsc.edu) within 2 weeks after GREAT Week concludes. Score sheets will not be available after 2 weeks.
In three minutes, could you:
- Communicate the importance of your research to a non-specialized audience?
- Entice others to want to learn more about your research?
- Convince a potential funder to support your project?
- Explain your research to a prospective employer?
The GREAT Flash Talks are a communication competition, challenging you to convey the importance of your research to a broad audience, in 3 minutes or less! You will need to craft an engaging narrative to describe your research and its impact. Then, present it in a clear, concise, and confident manner using only one static PowerPoint slide as a visual aid. The competition is open to OU Health graduate students, professional students, and postdoctoral fellows. Students must be enrolled for Spring 2026.
Click here to complete your Flash Talk competition entry form for the GREAT Symposium 2026. You will need to provide the title of your talk and list all authors involved by February 10th. The Flash Talk Finals will be Wednesday, April 8th at 1:00 PM. If there are more than 10 submissions, a preliminary round will be held on Thursday, April 2 at 2:00 PM to choose who will compete in the finals. After the final competition, judges will choose an overall First Place winner, and the audience will select a People’s Choice winner. Awards, including cash prizes for First Place and for People’s Choice, will be announced at the GREAT Symposium Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, April 8th.
Official Rules - Flash Talk Competition
- Presentations are limited to three minutes. Competitors that exceed 3 minutes will be disqualified.
- A single, static PowerPoint slide is permitted. No slide transitions, animations or “movement” of anything on the slide is allowed.
- The moderator will present your pre-submitted slide with your name and the title of your presentation.
- The 3-minute timer will then start as you begin to speak for your actual presentation.
- Competitors must give their presentation from a fixed place; poems, raps or songs (etc.) and/or moving around the room are not allowed.
- No additional electronic media (i.e. sound or video files, 3D moving graphics etc.) are permitted.
- No additional props (i.e., costumes, musical instruments, lab equipment etc.) are permitted.
- The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.
Calendar of Events
February 13, 2026
- Deadline to register for Flash Talk competition
March 13, 5PM
April 2, 2025: Flash Talk Prelims, 2-4 PM, Bird Library Auditorium
- If necessary, preliminary Flash Talk sessions will be held to choose the top 10 participants who will advance to the Finals the week of GREAT.
April 6-8: GREAT Symposium
- Flash Talk Final Competition will be held April 8th during the GREAT Symposium (See the Schedule of Presentations page for full details)
April 8
- First Place (judged winner) and People’s Choice Awards for Flash Talks (cash prizes) will be announced at the GREAT Symposium Awards Ceremony.