2026 National Abstract Competition

  • May 1, 2026

SUBMIT YOUR WORK

If you are a researcher, community-based member organization, physician, nurse, social worker or someone working on behalf of people living with sickle cell disease and their families, the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. would like to highlight your work at the 54th Annual National Convention, October 15-17, 2026, in-person.

To be eligible, abstracts must meet guidelines and be submitted by June 22, 2026. Late submissions will not be accepted. Abstracts will be reviewed and ranked by the national abstract review committee. We hope to notify you of acceptance beginning July 24, 2026. Abstract finalists will be judged during oral presentations and presented at the SCDAA Gala (Friday evening, October 16th)

“Best Abstract” in each category will be announced at the SCDAA 54th Annual National Convention. Special awards for the best student and trainee abstracts will also be given.

Submission Instructions and Guidelines

Abstract text must be written in English and contain the following:

  • TITLE: Use a concise title typed in CAPITAL LETTERS.
  • AUTHORS: List authors’ names (First name, middle initial, last name) and institutional affiliations as briefly as possible. Indicate authors who are trainees (such as student, grad student, post-doctoral fellow, intern, resident, apprentice, etc.) and list them first if the work is their project.
  • ABSTRACT TEXT:
  • Structure text utilizing the following subheadings: Objective, Methods, *Results, and Conclusions.
  • Submit abstracts in written form for scoring.
  • Authors can be modified to have less duplication of contact information for co-authors.
  • Abstracts without results will not be accepted.
  • Please do not submit tables or charts with your abstract.
  • ABSTRACT CATEGORY: If your abstract seems to fit more than one category, please select a first choice and a second choice – the abstract judges will decide.
  • CHARACTER COUNT:  5000 characters maximum (no exceptions).

2026 Presentations, Topic Categories, and Examples

Categories for abstract judging are listed here. Trainee presentations are a subcategory of each topic. If your abstract seems to fit more than one topic category, please select a first choice and a second choice – the abstract judges will decide which category fits best.

  • Public Health Policy
  • Community-Based Research
  • Basic and Translational Research
  • Clinical Research
  • Psychosocial Research
  • Gene Therapy Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant
  • SCD Global Health
  • Sickle Cell Trait

Abstract FAQs.

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