THE THIRD ANNUAL AAST MILITARY SYMPOSIUM ABSTRACT SYSTEM IS OPEN! Submit your abstract by May 15th all time zones

Eligibility

The competition is open to all military general surgery residents, surgical specialty residents, and trauma fellows. Military residents and fellows who are in training at civilian programs are eligible. Medical students are not eligible. Abstracts submitted may have been previously presented but cannot be published as full papers in any peer-reviewed journal before March 30, 2026.

Scope

• The one-page abstracts should describe original research in any aspect of trauma care.
• Please use our template for reference here
• The topics must be categorized as either: basic laboratory research or clinical investigation (as applicable).
• Each service (Army, Navy, Air Force) will select their two winning abstracts (one in clinical investigation and one in basic science). The selected winning abstracts will then represent their respective service at the Region 13 (military region) competition held at the Excelsior Surgical Society Symposium, October 4, 2025 in Chicago, IL.
• The two winning abstracts from the Region 13 (military region) competition will be submitted for consideration for presentation at the 2026 COT Annual Spring Meeting, but only one will be selected for the final Central competition. The dates for the 2026 national COT resident paper competition have not been announced, but will be in March of 2026. All regional winners are also expected to attend the COT Banquet, where the winners of the Central competition will be announced. The selected winning paper from Region 13 will be funded to attend the COT national competition.
• The second-place abstract winners will be eligible for a scholarship to attend the Mattox Vegas Trauma, Critical Care & Acute Care Surgery (TCCACS) annual meeting in Las Vegas, NV. The scholarship program has previously awarded meeting registration and hotel accommodations.
• All presenters at the final Central competition will be expected to submit a full manuscript in advance of competition.

Submission Rules

• The Resident and Fellow Trauma Paper Competition should include only research completed during either the applicant’s residency or fellowship years.
• The research should have been primarily conducted by the resident or fellow and the trainee should be listed as the first author on the final publication of the research.
• The presenter does not have to be a trainee at the time of the competition. There is a time limit for competition eligibility: 2 years from completion of residency and/or 1 year from completion of fellowship.
• A presenter can only submit their work to one Region for the competition.
• The research must be presented in-person by the resident or fellow. No virtual presentations or substitute presenters will be allowed.