SPHHS Research Day

Date: Friday, May 1, 2026
Time: 1:30–4pm
Location: SPHHS HUB

We are excited to announce that SPHHS will host its annual Research Day on Friday, May 1st, in the HUB from 1:30-4:00pm. Research Day will coincide with the Grand Opening Celebration of the HUB, for which more details will be forthcoming. It promises to be a very special afternoon.

Now in its 29th year, SPHHS Research Day is an annual showcase for research and practice conducted by students working with faculty mentors in all our departments. Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers, are invited to present their work to the faculty, staff, peers, and the broader community.

Students will be assigned to one of four 20-minute poster sessions. Posters will be displayed either digitally on monitors or as printed posters in the two Team-Based Learning classrooms. Digital poster space will be allocated based on the order in which abstract registrations are received, until all spaces are filled. After that, we will proceed with assignments for printed posters.  

Abstract registration will be open between February 14 and March 24, 2026. Please submit using the form below.

We will notify you as to whether you have been assigned to a digital or printed poster after abstract registration closes. For students who are assigned digital posters, it is essential that you bring your own fully charged computer with access to your file. We encourage you to dress professionally, and to be ready with a 1-minute and 3-minute presentation. Please be sure your presentation is geared to a broad audience as attendees will not be experts in the same research area. 

Please see details below about our 3-minute pre-recorded Video Challenge and information about awards.

Research Day Poster Abstract Submission Form

Submit your poster abstract here! (submission form coming soon)

Abstract Submission Deadline: Tuesday, March 24th, 2026 (11:59 PM).

Poster Abstract

Format: The abstract word limit is 350 words. There are no specific formatting requirements, but we encourage students to structure their abstract as follows: Background, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Preliminary results or intended analyses are acceptable for the abstract.

Information about the 3-Minute Pre-recorded Video Challenge and Awards!  

We challenge you to create an engaging concise video summary of your poster and research. A key part of this challenge is that the pre-recorded video cannot be longer than 3 minutes. It is also restricted to no more than four slides. The deadline for submitting the video is April 7th, 2026. Further instructions, judging criteria and a link to upload your file will be posted here soon. No judging will take place on Research Day. Video presentations will be judged by a faculty jury prior to Research Day. 

SPHHS graduate students and undergraduate students in Kinesiology, Nutrition, Public Health, and Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences are eligible for prizes, as follows:

Video presentations from two graduate students will be selected to receive SPHHS Travel Awards to be used toward expenses associated with presenting at a conference of their choice. The first $1,500 prize will be given to the first-place winner from a graduate student in a public health department (Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Environmental Health Sciences, Health Promotion and Policy); the second $1,500 prize will be awarded to a graduate student in the Health Sciences (Kinesiology, Nutrition, Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences). There will also be three Graduate Student Video Presentation Prizes and three Undergraduate Student Video Presentation Prizes.

Frequently Asked Questions

We have a capstone project from our class. May we present at Research Day? No, due to space limitations, capstone projects will not be a part of Research Day. Other options for presentations have been made available to Capstone classes. 

Will my abstract be accepted for a poster session? Posters should be a display of work that you contributed to directly. Provided it is not a capstone project and that an SPHHS faculty sponsor has approved your abstract submission, we will too. So, please plan to start working on your poster right away. Post-doctoral fellows and students outside SPHHS with an SPHHS faculty advisor are encouraged to participate in Research Day but are not eligible for awards.

Sample Poster Template

A sample PPT template can be found here. Students are welcome to use it or one provided by your faculty sponsor, but your poster should maintain a 16:9 ratio to ensure it fits properly on the digital displays.

Digital or Printed Poster Design Instruction

Present your information so a coherent and straight-forward story is told, clearly articulating the greater implications of the work presented for public health and health science. Emphasize the most important points and avoid overwhelming the viewer with too much detail. Specific recommendations include:

  • In the introduction, briefly summarize the necessary background that led to this work, clearly identify the purpose or specific aims of the study, and identify the questions asked or hypothesis(es) tested. If your poster is in the “practice” category, please describe the theoretical basis for the intervention or policy.
  • Provide sufficient detail about methodology used to conduct the study, including number and necessary demographics of the participants studied. If your poster is in the “practice” category, provide supporting evidence for the approach or policy and the goals and objectives to be achieved.
  • Results can be effectively presented by tables, figures, quotes, illustrations, and/or photographs. For each table, figure, etc., a clear legend will go a long way in highlighting and briefly discussing the essential points. For program plans, please provide a clear logic model.
  • For the summary and conclusion, briefly state the "bottom lines" of your work, its significance in your field, and clearly articulate the implications for public health/health science.
  • In the acknowledgment section, identify funding source(s), institutional support, and individuals who have contributed significantly but are not listed as authors. 

Please note: You may present preliminary data.

Poster Printing

Research posters can be printed at the UMass Amherst Learning Commons. Follow the link for more information.