2026 Annual Meeting

The first round of abstract notifications will be sent out by November 14th, 2025.

The Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine (SBSM) invites late-breaking abstract submissions for the next Annual Meeting, March 11-14, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.

Submit Your Abstract Here

Deadline to submit is December 8th, 8:00 PM ET.

The SBSM Annual Meeting is an open scientific and clinical forum where investigators from allied disciplines pool their knowledge, consider problems of conceptual relationships, and develop ideas that will stimulate further research.

The meeting is devoted to the presentation of scientific papers, symposia, workshops, poster sessions, and invited lectures, and special attention is given to networking opportunities to foster ongoing relationships within the organization.

We invite you to contribute to the exchange of information and ideas by submitting your research. Submissions that address the meeting theme of “Weathering the Storm in Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine” are particularly encouraged. Limited competitive travel scholarships are available to authors to assist with the cost of attendance. Information on how to apply will be on the SBSM website in the coming weeks.

Please note, SBSM has transitioned to an updated membership database. If you have not updated your login information already, you’ll need to set up your password. Click here to set your password. Once your password has been updated, you can log into the abstract system to submit.

Late-Breaking Abstract Guidelines

2026 Draft Schedule

2026 Annual Meeting registration will be opening soon!

The Westin Chicago River North 

320 North Dearborn Street

Chicago, IL 60654

Click here to reserve your room under the discounted SBSM room block.

Do not wait to book your room! Please note Chicago has a well known St. Patrick's Day scene, and demand is high for accommodations during the time of our meeting.

We have a limited amount of double double rooms available in our block for those sharing a room. If you are sharing a room, please increase the number of "Guests per room" to at least 2 to see the double reservation option.

**Cut-Off date for discounted rooms in February 16th**

*Sponsorship & Exhibitor Prospectus*

Sponsorship & Exhibitor Opportunities: 83rd Annual SBSM Meeting

Join Us in Chicago for the 83rd Annual SBSM Meeting!
March 11-14, 2026 | The Westin Chicago River North

The Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine (SBSM) is thrilled to invite you to become a sponsor or exhibitor at our 83rd Annual Meeting in Chicago. This event is a key gathering for experts from across the biopsychosocial sciences to connect, share groundbreaking research, and explore the intersection of biological, psychological, and social factors in health and disease.

We offer a range of sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities designed to showcase your brand to over 500 professionals from diverse fields, including medical and health disciplines, behavioral sciences, and social sciences. By partnering with us, you’ll have direct access to influential leaders in healthcare and research, along with opportunities to promote your products, services, and innovations.

Why Partner with SBSM?

The SBSM Annual Meeting is the premier event for those dedicated to understanding and improving health across the lifespan. With engaging programming and highly trafficked spaces, this is your chance to elevate your brand, foster new connections, and contribute to the future of biopsychosocial science.

Available Sponsorship & Exhibitor Options:

1. Exhibitor Tabletop Booth – $2,000

• Premium location in the Grand Court, a high-traffic area during meals and breaks.
• Includes access for 2 booth representatives.
• Lead retrieval through the app and a push notification to encourage attendees to visit your booth.

2. Exhibitor Poster – $1,500

• Display your research or product at our unopposed poster sessions.
• Includes access for 1 representative.
• Exhibitor profile on the meeting app.

3. App Sponsorship – $3,500 (exclusive)

• Banner ad and logo displayed throughout the event on the meeting app.
• Sponsor profile on the app.

4. Refreshment Break Sponsorship – $1,500

• Signage at food and beverage stations.
• Push notification on the app at break time.
• Recognition in the annual meeting app.

5. Career/Job Board – $250

• Post your job opportunities on a high-traffic bulletin board and SBSM’s online job board for 60 days.

6. Trainee Travel Grant Sponsor – $500

• Support a trainee’s attendance with a travel grant.
• Recognition as a sponsor of SBSM Scholars, Hall Scholars, or LGBTQ+ Trainee Scholars.

7. Highlight Event Sponsorship – $3,000

• Sponsor a key event at the meeting (e.g., Developing Investigators Program, Emerging Leaders Social Hour, Mentor-Mentee Events, and more).
• Recognition at the event and on the meeting app.

Custom Sponsorship Packages

We understand that each organization has unique goals. If none of the available sponsorships meet your needs, we are happy to work with you to create a customized sponsorship package that aligns with your objectives. Please contact Connie Mackay at connie@thesbsm.org to discuss further.

Important Deadlines

The deadline to secure a sponsorship or exhibitor space is February 18, 2026. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to connect with the leaders in biopsychosocial science and medicine.

Sign up today to become a sponsor or exhibitor!

Contact Us:

For more information or to discuss your sponsorship options, please reach out to:

Connie Mackay
SBSM Associate Director
Email: connie@thesbsm.org
Phone: 703-718-6012

SBSM Annual Scientific Meeting

POSTER SPECIFICATIONS

 A poster presentation consists of research highlights that are visually presented on a moveable display. The area for displaying poster materials is 4 feet high by 4 feet wide. The poster boards you will be displaying your work require you to use velcro or push pins to set your poster up. Please do not exceed the 4 feet by 4 feet space allotted! You will receive your poster number prior to the meeting, along with set up and tear down times. Please mount your poster next to your number.

Here are a few hints for good poster presentations:

• Make your poster simple and eye-catching.
• Use simple drawings, diagrams, graphs and/or photographs
• Graphics should be explicit and brief
• Have clean and attractive layouts
• Use few panels, including an introduction/summary.
• Simple use of color can add emphasis effectively. The 6 best color combinations are:
• • Black on white
  • Red on white
  • Green on white
  • Blue on white
  • White on blue
  • White on black
  • Use large print and a minimum of text
  • Your poster should contain headings that organize and logically display the information.
  • Bring handouts for distribution (500 attendees are expected).
  • Remember, not all attendees will be fluent in English. Keep abbreviations and jargon to a minimum.
  • Stay with your poster so attendees may confer with you.

Don’t forget to add the First Time Presenter, Biopsychosocial Science for the Greater Good, Community-Partnered Research, Climate and Sustainability or Clinically Relevant badges to your presentation if they apply.  They can be download them from the tab below this one.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact an SBSM team member at info@thesbsm.org.

Presentation Badges are self-selecting and available to be added to your poster or presentation slides.

First Time Presenter:  Is this the first time you will present at a society annual meeting?  If so, we encourage you to apply our First Time Presenter Badge to your presentation slides or poster so that continuing members can welcome you to the meeting.

Biopsychosocial Science for the Greater Good:  From viral and loneliness epidemics to societies fractured by discord, marginalization and discrimination of vulnerable populations, and economic and environmental stressors, biopsychosocial processes are critical to understanding and identifying solutions for key societal challenges. The Biopsychosocial Science for the Greater Good Initiative aims to highlight and promote member science that elucidates biopsychosocial mechanisms and solutions for vexing societal challenges.  Does this apply to your presentation?  Help us promote the contributions of biopsychosocial science to serve the greater good by applying our Greater Good Badge to your presentation slides or poster.

Community-Partnered Research: Intended for those who are presenting work that involves community members as valued partners in their research. This could include having community members as co-investigators or equal scientific partners, having community members participate on valued and active community advisory boards for the research, and many other manifestations. If you self-identify your work as community-partnered, community-engaged, community-based, or a different variant of any of these, please include this badge on your presentation slides or poster.

Climate and Sustainability: The Climate Change, Sustainability, and Health Special Interest Group seeks to increase awareness and visibility of climate-related environmental and sustainability challenges affecting human health. We hope to leverage the expertise of SBSM members to address these environmental challenges and their impact on public health. If your presentation addresses health outcomes linked to climate-related environmental or sustainability issues, please apply this Climate badge to your presentation slides or poster.

Clinically Relevant: If your presentation has direct or translational impact on health care delivery or public health programs, please apply this badge to your presentation slides or poster.

Instructions:

Right click on the image you wish to use, click copy image, then paste it onto your poster or slides in the upper left-hand corner.

Code of Conduct for Society Events and Activities

Guided by its Ethical Principles, SBSM is committed to providing an atmosphere in its forums, outlets, activities, and meetings where personal respect and intellectual growth are valued and the free expression and exchange of ideas are protected and encouraged. Accordingly, SBSM strives to welcome and support people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to, members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, skin color, immigration status, social and economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability.

SBSM forums, outlets, activities, and meetings of SBSM include any gathering, formal and informal, under the auspices of the SBSM, including in-person and virtual meetings, online forums, such as SBSM Collaborates, SBSM social media exchanges among members, and other activities. Participants of SBSM activities—whether official or unofficial—agree to comply with all rules and conditions of the activities.

Registration for, attendance at, or participation in any SBSM activity indicates an agreement to abide by the SBSM Code of Conduct, per the conditions of Article III, Section 5 of the SBSM bylaws. Hence, to preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, SBSM reserves the right to suspend or terminate participation for anyone who violates the Code of Conduct.

Behavior that is inappropriate in the workplace is inappropriate in the context of SBSM forums, outlets, activities, and its meetings. Hence, participants in SBSM activities are expected to model and support the norms of professional respect necessary to promote the conditions for healthy exchange of scientific ideas. General SBSM behavioral conduct guidelines are outlined below.

• Social Media: SBSM is aware that participants in SBSM activities may want to communicate scientific and clinical findings and comment on them to an audience. These communications may occur in real-time, such that an individual is providing a running description or commentary on an event (e.g., a presentation) as it is occurring. If you are a presenter in an SBSM activity and do not want your picture, slides or information to be shared on social media, please mention that to the audience before your presentation.
• Photography: By participating in SBSM activities (e.g., Annual Meeting), attendees consent to be photographed, with the understanding that those images may be used in SBSM documents, publications and/or on the website. If you prefer to not have your image used by SBSM, please contact info@thesbsm.org. We encourage you to ask permission before taking photographs or making any kind of recordings of individuals or small groups. Please don’t use photos or recordings for commercial purposes without express consent of conference planners.
• Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages may be provided at some evening SBSM events. Alcohol will only be distributed by commercial hosts following local and state statutes, which may include limiting consumption. Alcohol may not be brought into SBSM-sponsored events nor may alcohol be consumed by those not of legal age. Because excessive alcohol leads to impaired decision-making, SBSM discourages excessive drinking at any point during the meeting.
• Harassment: SBSM is dedicated to maintaining a harassment–free experience for all participants in SBSM activities. SBSM will not tolerate harassment in its community in any form. Harassment includes any behavior that a reasonable person would find intimidating, hostile, disparaging, or offensive. Harassment includes, but is not limited to:
  - Verbal or written comments and negative behavior, either in real or virtual space, including those which are related to or are based upon gender, age, sexual orientation, gender          identity or expression, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, age, religion (or lack thereof), nationality or other group identity
  - Deliberate discriminatory language and threatening behavior, including intimidation and stalking
  - Harassing photography or recording
  - Sustained disruption of talks or other events
  - Unwelcome physical contact
  - Unwelcome sexual attention, including unwelcome solicitation of emotional or physical intimacy, such as sexual advances
  - Inclusion of unnecessary sexually explicit, violent, or otherwise inappropriate materials in presentations
  - Posting (or threatening to post), without permission, other people’s personally identifying information online, including on social networking sites
  - Personal insults including, but not limited to, those using racist, sexist, homophobic, or xenophobic terms
  - Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, and you feel comfortable speaking with the offender, please inform the offender that behavior is unwanted and offensive. Oftentimes, the offender and offended will resolve the incident by having that initial discussion. Participants in SBSM activities who are asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. If someone engages in harassing behavior, the SBSM activity or meeting organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender, expulsion from the SBSM activity with no refund and/or banning the offender from future SBSM events.

SBSM recognizes that there are many reasons that speaking directly to the offender may not be an option for you. If you do not feel comfortable speaking directly with the offender for any reason, seek out an SBSM activity organizer, SBSM officer or SBSM staff member. To make a personal report of harassment, please contact info@thesbsm.org. You may designate any part of your report as confidential.

At the SBSM’s sole discretion as stated in Article III, Section 5 of the bylaws, unacceptable behavior or violations of the Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct may result in removal from or denial of membership and/or access to meeting facilities or activities, without refund of any applicable dues, registration fees or costs. In addition, the SBSM reserves the right to report violations to an individual’s employer or institution or to a law-enforcement agency. Those engaging in unacceptable behavior may also be banned from future SBSM membership and/or activities or face additional sanctions.

If you have experienced or are aware of violations of the SBSM’s Code of Conduct, please email info@thesbsm.org.

All registration cancellations and refund requests must be made in writing by March 01, 2026. A refund of all fees, minus a $75 administrative fee, will be given for cancellations received by that date. No refunds will be granted for requests postmarked after March 01, 2026. Submit all requests to SBSM Registration via email at info@thesbsm.org.