DISCUSSION GUIDELINES

AT A GLANCE

• Discussion sessions involve brief sharing of results and substantial discussion among attendees.

• Discussion sessions do not have audiovisual equipment for PowerPoint slides.

• Presenters must accept the speaker invitation by Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Presenters that do not respond by the deadline will be accepted and expected to present.

• All (optional) handouts must be uploaded to the OpenWater Account Portal by Thursday, May 7, 2026. If you would like any paper copies during the presentation, please print them on your own and bring to the session. Printing of handouts is not available on site.

• For questions about your session, please contact the national office at [email protected].

Discussion sessions involve brief sharing of information on recent findings or innovative topics related to the accepted abstract with substantial opportunity for discussion among attendees. Most sessions only focus on one abstract, but occasionally two abstracts may be invited to a session. All sessions will take place in person at the meeting facility in Boston, Massachusetts. Sessions will have adequate audio equipment (microphones and speakers) for the meeting room, but will not have any additional audio-visual equipment, telephone/video conferencing equipment, telephones, or internet lines available.  While CSTE staff will be present to assist with any issues, please elect a colleague or co-presenter to take notes if desired. Discussion sessions will not be recorded. 

Important Dates   

4/1 Invitation Response Due   

5/7 Advanced Upload of Handouts (Optional)  

Responding to the Speaker Invitation   

Formal letters of invitation are sent by e-mail from the CSTE national office by Friday, March 6, 2026. Presenting authors for discussion sessions should respond to the invitation online no later than 11:59PM EDT on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.   

Submission of a discussion abstract implies that presenting authors are committed to making the presentation at the conference. Should circumstances change and a presenting author is unable to attend, then the author is responsible for finding a substitute presenting author. Presenting authors that fail to respond by the deadline will be considered accepted and expected to present. Acceptance or withdrawal of an accepted abstract must be made no later than 11:59PM EDT on Wednesday, April 1, 2026 through your OpenWater account. A direct link to your OpenWater account can be found in your invitation e-mail. Withdrawals made after this date or failure to present an accepted abstract could result in disqualification from presenting an abstract at future conferences.    

All presenting authors and moderators are expected to register for the conference and pay related fees. CSTE does not provide a travel allowance, honorarium, or reimbursement for presenting authors or moderators attending the conference. Presenting authors and moderators are encouraged to become CSTE members, but it is not a requirement to present at the conference. CSTE membership is required to attend position statement sessions and the Business Meeting.   

Presentation Time and Q&A   

Sessions are 45 minutes and are held during lunch and afternoon periods. Food and beverages are not provided during sessions. Most sessions focus on one abstract, but occasionally two abstracts may be invited to a session. Presentation times can be accessed through your online invitation information in your OpenWater account. A direct link to your OpenWater account can be found in your invitation email.  

Handouts  

Handouts are not a requirement for discussion sessions; however, if you want to distribute handouts during the session, we recommend you bring plenty of copies with you to the conference. Printing of handouts is not available on site. Handouts may also be uploaded through your OpenWater account. A direct link to your OpenWater account can be found in your invitation email. Discussion presenters may upload handouts through their OpenWater account no later than 11:59PM EDT on Thursday, May 7, 2026.    

SPEAKER DISCLOSURE – Presenting authors must disclose to participants prior to speaking any significant financial interest or other relationships with the manufacturer(s) of any commercial product(s) or provider(s) of any commercial services discussed in a session presentation and with any commercial supports of the activity. This pertains to relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or other corporations whose products or services are related to the subject matter of the presentation topic. Having an interest or affiliation with a corporate organization does not prevent a speaker from making a presentation, but the relationship must be made known in advance to the audience. Questions regarding CSTE presenter disclosure should be directed to the CSTE National Office.   

PHOTOGRAPHY DISCLOSURE – By participating in the annual conference, whether in-person or virtually, uploading photographs to social media with the hashtag #CSTE2026, or uploading photographs to the CSTE conference app and/or platform, you grant CSTE the right to take and distribute photographs, video, audio and/or electronic reproductions of events and activities for use in CSTE print and digital materials. By agreeing to present, you agree to allow CSTE to make video recordings of your presentation and archive this public available media on the CSTE website.   

CSTE may select presentations or sessions for promotion to media outlets during the CSTE Annual Conference. Therefore, media personnel may attend conference sessions and can be identified by their conference name badges.  

Questions – Contact the CSTE national office at (770) 458-3811 or [email protected] if you have any questions that are not addressed in the guidelines or on the CSTE website.