Call for Abstracts 2026 - Dunedin - New Zealand Association of General Surgeons

Oral Presentations

The oral presentation categories include:

Basic Science Research
Clinical Research

A maximum of 12 oral presentations will be eligible for the awards. The oral presentation timing is determined by the Committee and is to be 10 minutes (8 minutes presentation, 2 minutes Q&A and changeover). Standard audio-visual equipment will be provided: lectern, microphone, PC laptop, data projector and screen.

We require your PPT Presentation by Wednesday 4 March 2026 to kimberley@nzags.co.nz

Poster Presentations

The poster presentation categories include:

Basic Science Research
Clinical Research
Case Studies

Only the Basic Science Research and Clinical Research posters will be eligible for the poster awards, however case report poster presentations are encouraged to support an educational section.

Posters eligible for the awards:

Will be capped at 12
We require a PDF of the poster to be provided by Wednesday 4 March 2026 to kimberley@nzags.co.nz
Must be available to discuss their research (concisely) at the conference, on Saturday lunchtime (please view programme), 5 minutes in total (3 minutes presenting, 2 minutes for Q&A).

Posters not eligible for the awards:

Poster may be accepted as case studies. These posters are not available for the award and considered display only. If a case series, retrospective review is intended to be presented along with the abstract, a complete list of references used for the research must be provided. It is expected a case series, retrospective review will have a component equivalent to a formal review of the subject.

Poster Instructions:

Your Poster should be A0 size – portrait orientated (1190mm high by 840mm wide).
Your Poster should be laminated and the text should be in a font of sufficient size for easy reading at a distance of 1 metre.
The poster boards will be Velcro-sensitive, please bring Velcro hooks to attach your poster to the board. Sticky tape and other forms of adhesive won’t work on the fluffy board surface.
Posters must be brought with you to the conference and erected on Saturday 21 March 2026, prior to 8.30am.
You will be required to stand beside your poster during the lunchbreak (please view programme) on Saturday 21 March 2026, to answer questions from delegates and judges if applicable.
Your poster board must be removed at the end of the lunch break on Sunday (please view programme). NZAGS has no responsibility for poster boards at the end of the conference.

General Submission Specifications

Length: 300 words or less, excluding authors and department
Text should be single spaced.
Limit the number of authors to no more than 7
Do not indent paragraphs
All abstracts must be submitted in English

Your abstract should contain the following:

Title: Sentence Case (not all capitals)
Authors: Authors’ names should be supplied in the surname-last format and should be in initial capital/lower case, not all capitals. All affiliations must state the authors’ institution, city and country. eg: Brown, G., ABC University, Auckland, New Zealand
Body of Abstract: Sentence Case. Your headings “Introduction (including the study hypothesis), Aims, Methods, Results, Conclusions” need to be bold. Each heading should be its own paragraph. Sub headings may be used but should not be given separate paragraphs.
References: References (maximum of two) in a list following the abstract. The style of the references should follow either the Harvard or APA method.
Abbreviations may be used but must be spelt out in full at the first mention followed by the abbreviation in parentheses.

NZAGS Awards

During the online submission process, you will need to select which Award category best describes your research.

Best Oral Presentation by a registrar enrolled in a higher degree* $1000
Best Oral Presentation by a registrar not enrolled in a higher degree $1000
Best Poster Presentation by a registrar enrolled in a higher degree* $500
Best Poster Presentation by a registrar not enrolled in a higher degree $500

*Research must have been done as part of a higher degree e.g. Masters, PhD.

NZAGS AWARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Abstracts must be submitted via the NZAGS Conference website. The applicant must research, write and present their own research. The applicant must indicate if the research carried out was completed as part of a higher degree or not and if the research is clinical or science based.
NZAGS SET trainees must have received prior approval for their research topic from the NZAGS Aotearoa New Zealand Training Sub-Committee (AoNZTSC).
Applicants must register for and attend the conference to present their research.

THE DAMIEN MOSQUERA RESEARCH AWARD

In remembrance each year at the NZAGS Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM), a $1000 prize will be offered for the best submitted oral or poster presentation from a regional centre. The prize will be awarded to the primary author of an oral or poster presented at the ASM, that best epitomises the scientific rigour and endeavour that defined Damien’s career.

Damien Mosquera was a consultant surgeon from Taranaki/New Plymouth who was on the New Zealand General Surgery Training Committee up until his untimely death in 2014. His time on the committee was defined by his steadfast commitment to encouraging trainees into robust research projects, and many such projects came out of Taranaki Base Hospital as a result of his efforts. Amongst many things, Damien showed us that good quality, contributory research doesn’t always come from the big metropolitan centres. This award commemorates his enormous contribution to training in General Surgery in this country.

THE DAMIEN MOSQUERA RESEARCH AWARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Oral or poster presentations considered in equal competition must be accepted for presentation at the NZAGS Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM)
Must be from data generated at a New Zealand centre other than metropolitan centres e.g. Auckland, North Shore, Middlemore, Waikato, Wellington, Christchurch or Dunedin.
Only one author is eligible and must present the paper or poster at the NZAGS ASM
Fellows are not eligible, but non-SET trainees are (e.g. house surgeons, junior registrars)
Literature reviews are not eligible
Meta-analyses and systematic reviews are only acceptable when the research supervisor is from a provincial centre
Submissions for this award are also eligible for consideration for the established registrar conference prizes, if applicable.

Call for Abstracts 2026 – Dunedin

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