Poster Competition Guidelines and FAQ

To register for the poster competition, use the same link as general registration. The registration form will ask if you want to compete in the poster competition. Once you click yes, a new series of questions will appear regarding your poster.

*When registering for the poster competition, please submit poster titles in title case capitalization.
**We do not require you to submit a poster abstract.

The poster competition is open to undergraduate, masters, PhDs, medical students, and postdoctoral fellows in the fields of medicine, engineering, public health, translation, basic sciences, and more to participate. Registrants should be serious about participating and sharing their research with symposium attendees. Note – your poster does not need to be about the symposium’s theme.

Faculty, research assistants, and more can present a research poster if room is available, but they are not eligible to participate in the competition.

The purpose of the poster competition is to showcase multidisciplinary research by the INBT teams, as well as those doing similar research at Johns Hopkins. Therefore, your research poster does not need to follow the symposium’s theme. Research in the areas of medicine, engineering, public health, translation, and the basic sciences are all relevant topics for presentation. You will be contacted by INBT if your poster is determined NOT to be appropriate for presentation. ALL POSTERS ARE SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY INBT.

No. You cannot register for the competition after registration is closed. The INBT team needs time to prepare for the symposium and poster competition.

You and another participant share an 8-foot wide poster board board. Therefore, your poster width should be no larger than 4-feet. A portrait design works best for the competition to showcase all the content on your poster.

The INBT does not pay for poster printing. Past participants have used the following vendors

• Student Digital Media Center (Homewood campus)
• Hopkins Poster (School of Medicine campus)
• PhD Posters
• FedEx and UPS (bring your J-card and ask if they have a student discount)

Logos are available on the Johns Hopkins branding website. If you are having difficulty finding a specific school, department, center, or institute logo, reach out to Gina Wadas or Johnny Moseman for assistance.

You will hear from the INBT after poster registration closes and before the day of the symposium. All efforts are made to contact poster registrants the same week registration closes.  If you forget your poster number or session, INBT staff are available to help you.

We recommend competitors dress in business casual attire.

Posters need to be in place before the competition begins. Judging begins promptly at the start of each session and you must stand by your poster during your assigned time. The poster competition and reception run concurrently. When you are not presenting, we encourage you to visit other poster participants and network with guests. You are also welcome to present your poster during both sessions should you wish. Poster winners and award distribution will occur during closing remarks and the awards ceremony.

Be sure to take posters with you at the conclusion of the event. The INBT is not responsible for posters lost or left behind.

Poster judges use the following criteria when reviewing your poster: content and depth, research impact and innovation, results and analysis, and presentation and delivery.

Awards vary from year-to-year, but we have separate award categories for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral participants. We also have a people’s choice category where the participant will win an Institute for NanoBioTechnology swag bag.

We understand circumstances happen that might prevent you from participating in the competition. If this happens, please contact Gina Wadas and Johnny Moseman as soon as possible.

Send questions to Risa Hagigal or Gina Wadas.