Call for Symposium Proposals

The Canadian Nutrition Society (CNS) is seeking conference symposium proposals for its 2024 Annual Conference that will be held on May 2-4, in Edmonton, Alberta.

CNS invites proposal submissions from CNS members in good standing. CNS encourages symposia that reflects the basic science and clinical membership base and the incorporation of these perspectives in our sessions. The tremendous success of the conference year after year is due in large part to the efforts of submissions by its members addressing timely and cutting-edge advances in nutritional sciences. Further, CNS is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the Society’s culture, operations and activities. As such we encourage submissions that include diversity in subject matter, as well as in speakers and moderators.

All conference session proposals are reviewed based on the following criteria:

• Proposed sessions will be objective and balanced.
• Content will contribute to the field of nutritional sciences.
• Sessions will meet the educational needs of conference attendees and complement the overall conference program.
• Availability of credible speakers.
• Fit within the overall conference program.
• Applicability of knowledge translation.*

 

* Knowledge Translation

CNS is enhancing its efforts to require the inclusion of a strong knowledge translation component (i.e., take away messages/what’s next, how to apply to practice, key recommendations) within each presentation. All session proposals require an explanation about opportunities for knowledge translation guidance within each presentation. As a guideline, speakers should aim for 20% of their presentations to focus on knowledge translation / take-away messages.

Session Chairs

Session proposals should clearly outline suggestions for a session Chair. Preference should be on identifying Chairs who are CNS members in good standing. The role of the Chair will be to:

• Support speakers in the development of their presentations, ensuring that the final presentations match the session title and description as it will appear in the conference program.
• Ensure each speaker has adequately included any disclosures/conflicts of interest in their presentation deck, and that each speaker will thoroughly present this information at the start of their talk.
• Select a relevant abstract (if available) to allow a trainee or postdoctoral scholar the opportunity to present (15 minutes) during the session.
• Confirm that all speaker presentations appropriately address the knowledge translation take-away messages.
• Serve as a point of contact to CNS staff leading up to and during the conference.
• Moderate the Q and A period during the session.

Session Format

The CNS conference is organized into underlying themes: biomedical, clinical, regulatory/policy and community. When submitting your proposal, please identify the category that best aligns with the session theme.

The following formats are available:

• Concurrent sessions:  are 75-minutes, which includes a brief introduction, followed by two invited speakers and ideally one short abstract presentation selected by the session chairs from abstract/poster submissions. There are three parallel concurrent sessions during each parallel time slot. * New for 2024 – CNS is exploring opportunities for postdoctoral scholars to express interest in presenting an abstract during sessions (similar to abstract presentations). More details will be forthcoming.
• Plenary sessions: these sessions are usually 60-90 minutes (TBD when finalizing the program). These sessions typically have no competing sessions.
• Interactive sessions: These sessions may be in the form of panel discussions, “debate” or workshop-style sessions to allow for a focus on important topics of interest and ideally to support increased knowledge translation.
• Sponsored Satellite Sessions: * New for 2024, Sponsored Satellite Sessions provide opportunities for external groups, such as industry, commodity groups, or other relevant stakeholders, to host a session to showcase research findings and engage in dialogue with a dedicated nutrition science and practice community.  For more information or to discuss opportunities, please contact Andrea Grantham, CNS Executive Director or (613-482-8020 ext1). To view the CNS Sponsor Prospectus - CLICK HERE.

The preferred format can be chosen from the list of options within this Proposal Submission tool. Note that CNS may also assign a session to a specific format (i.e., a session submitted as a concurrent may be offered as a plenary).

Proposals are due Friday, October 20, 2023.

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