Abstract submission for ECTRIMS 2021 will open in spring 2021.

The deadline for submission of abstracts will then be 19 May 2021.

Guidelines for preparation of abstracts

1.     Abstracts may only be submitted online. Abstracts submitted by fax or email will not be accepted.

2.     Abstracts must be submitted in English. Please use UK English spelling.

3.     The presenting author of an accepted abstract mustregister and attend the congress.

4.     If your abstract has been accepted as e-poster presentation, you will be asked to prepare a poster in electronic format (ePoster). Guidelines will follow based on acceptance of your abstract. Presenting authors will present their posters in e-poster sessions during the congress.<s></s>

5.     Abstracts should contain only original material not published or presented elsewhere prior to 13 October 2021.

6.   Provide a short specific title indicating the nature of the investigation. The background and goals of the study should appear clearly to the reader. The methods and results must contain data, and the conclusions should be clearly expressed.

7.     The title may not exceed 250 characters including spaces. The abstract text may not be longer than 2500 characters (ca. 300 words) including spaces, excluding disclosures.

8.     All abbreviations must be defined the first time they appear in your text (but, do not define in the title). Example: Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS), before being used as an abbreviation only.

9.     Use generic drug names.

10.  Tables, charts or other graphics may not be included and will be deleted by the editors.

11.   Authors should indicate their presentation type preference:

·         e-poster presentation only

·         oral or e-poster presentation

Note: "e-poster presentation only" implies that your abstract will be considered for poster presentation only.

The Scientific Programme Committee reserves the right to decide on the final allocation and presentation method.

Kindly note that an author may only give a maximum of 1 oral presentation that have been selected through submitted abstracts. In case an author has more than 1 oral abstract presentations, the person will be contacted to discuss which abstract will be presented by the author and who will present the other presentation(s) from the list of co-authors. If none of the co-authors can present the abstract, the abstract will no longer be considered for oral presentation.

12.  A selected number of abstracts will be accepted for oral presentation based on their scientific merits and on their relation to the topics addressed in the scientific programme of the Congress. We therefore encourage submissions on the main topics covered in the scientific programme.

13.  Disclosure of potential conflict of interest (e.g. grant support, consultancy, membership on advisory councils, speaker’s bureau) by all authors and source of funding aremandatory. Each listed author should prepare a one sentence statement that will be published with the abstract. All disclosures should be listed within the last 3 year.

14.  Abstracts from commercial entities will be considered. However, abstracts reporting results from collaborative research conducted by independent (non-company) investigators and investigators who are employees of commercial entities will not be accepted unless the independent (academic, clinician and/or scientist) investigators are included as authors.Abstract may not be presented unless the independent investigator is the presenting author.

15.  Please make sure to state your correct e-mail address. After having submitted your abstract, you will  receive a confirmation by e-mail with the following information:

·         reference number of your abstract (for correspondence and questions that might arise)

·         your personal user code and password.

If you do not receive a confirmation by e-mail please contact ECTRIMS2021[at]abstractserver.com.

16.  Should you wish to make corrections to an abstract already submitted or if you wish to submit other abstracts later, you may use your personal access code. This will shorten the submission procedure.

Corrections to abstracts can only be made up to the deadline of 19 May 2021, 23.59h CET.

17.  We kindly ask you to upload a picture of the presenting author. Please prepare the photo in one of the following formats: JPG or GIF with a max. size of 1 MB.

Notification

Each abstract will be reviewed by at least 3 external experts and final selection will be made by the Scientific Programme Committee. Notification of acceptance or rejection of submitted abstracts will be sent to the corresponding authors via email in July 2021. Full instructions concerning preparation and presentation will be included.

Publication

All accepted abstracts (incl. Late Breaking News) will be published in the online supplement of the Multiple Sclerosis Journal as well as on the ECTRIMS Congress’s website, Mobile App and in the ECTRIMS Online Library.

Full text of regular abstracts will be published 14 days prior to the congress (29 September 2021) on the congress website. Late Breaking News will be published on the first day of the congress (13 October 2021).

Webcasts and ePosters available on the ECTRIMS Online Library

Webcasts of accepted oral presentations will be posted on the ECTRIMS Online Library after the congress. All authors will be asked to agree to the publication of their webcast beforehand.

Submitted ePosters will be published on the ECTRIMS Online Library as of the first day of the congress (13 October 2021).

Young Scientific Investigators' Sessions

Abstracts submitted by presenting authors who are aged 35 or younger (born on or after 1 January 1986) and for interrupted study time due to maternity/caring parents or other justified time off the clock, may be considered for the Young Scientific Investigators’ Sessions. Selected presenters will be invited to give an oral presentation followed by discussion.

If you wish to be considered for this session, please click the appropriate checkbox during the online abstract submission process.

You will be required to upload a copy of your passport with readily readable date of birth as proof of eligibility, or a copy of your maternity leave certification or other justified cause certification. Prepare this document in one of the following formats: BMP, GIF, JPG or PDF files (size limit 1 MB). Applications without passport copy or arriving after 19 May 2021, 23.59h CET will not be considered.

Travel Grants

A limited number of travel grants will be made available to young scientists who are aged 35 or younger (born on or after 1 January 1986) and for interrupted study time due to maternity/caring parents or other justified time off the clock,whose abstracts have been accepted for oral or poster presentation.

Only the presenting author is eligible for the travel grant. The travel grant amount will be transferred to the presenting author’s bank account after the congress.

Interested scientists should click the appropriate checkbox during the online abstract submission process.

You will be required to upload a copy of your passport with readily readable date of birth as proof of eligibility, or a copy of your maternity leave certification or other justified cause certification.

Prepare this document in one of the following formats: BMP, GIF, JPG or PDF files (size limit 1 MB).

Applications without passport copy or arriving after 19 May 2021, 23.59h CET will not be considered.
(If you have difficulties uploading your passport copy, please contactECTRIMS2021[at]abstractserver.com)

Recipients of Travel Grants will be notified in July 2021, after notification of abstract acceptance.

Those who are awarded a Travel Grant will receive travel support and free registration to the congress.

Applications for Travel Grants will not be accepted for authors of Late Breaking News abstracts!

Late Breaking News

Late Breaking News abstracts, containing new information or important findings not (fully) available before the general abstract deadline, can be submitted until Wednesday, 21 July 2021, 23.59h CET.

Please note that the Late Breaking News abstract deadline is not an extension of the general abstract submission deadline.

The Late Breaking News abstract submission will open after the regular abstract submission closes and the process for submitting Late Breaking News abstracts will be similar to that of regular abstracts.

A selected number of Late Breaking News abstracts will be accepted for oral presentation during the Late Breaking News session Friday, 15 October 2021. The remaining accepted abstracts will be presented as a Poster. Poster presenters must be present during the Poster session 3 on Friday, 15 October 2021. Each abstract will be reviewed by at least 3 members of the Scientific Programme Committee. Notification of acceptance or rejection of submitted Late Breaking News abstracts will be sent to the corresponding authors via email in the end of August 2021. Full instructions concerning preparation and presentation will be included.

The presenting author of an accepted Late Breaking News abstract must register and attend at the Congress.

Awards

Best Young Investigator Oral Presentations

Two prizes of € 1500 each will be awarded to the two best oral presentations given by young investigators age 35 or younger (born on or after 1 January 1986) and for interrupted study time due to maternity/caring parents or other justified time off the clock, Prizes will be awarded during the Closing Session on Friday, 15 October 2021

Best Posters:

Prizes will be awarded to the five best poster presentations (€ 1000 each).

Award-winning poster authors will give a short presentation in the Closing Session on Friday, 15 October 2021.

Additional Prizes:

Additional prizes will be awarded by the MS International Federation during the Closing Session on Friday, 15 October 2021.