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Project Abstracts

Guidelines for Project Abstract Submissions

Overview

The European Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and Biology (ESMRMB) is introducing project abstracts as a new abstract submission format. This format is designed to foster collaboration, open dialogue, and transparency in research. Project abstracts present new research ideas, inviting community feedback and collaboration to shape impactful, collaborative projects.

What is a Project Abstract?

A project abstract is a proposal for a new research initiative, shared at an early stage to invite the MRI community to provide input and foster collaboration. They are particularly valuable for launching interdisciplinary projects, building research networks, and gaining valuable input from the experts — regardless of whether data collection has begun. Project abstracts are suited for research and development in the broadest sense, but should always include a clear need for help, feedback and collaboration.

Suitable Abstract Categories

Project abstracts are designed to promote early collaboration and open dialogue around ongoing or planned research initiatives. They are ideal for any stage of any type of project that would benefit from community input, collaboration, or feedback. Submissions are welcome from across the entire spectrum of research and development, including:

Tool & Method Development

  1. Research tools, software, or pipelines in development
  2. Platforms or methodologies that could benefit from broader adoption or testing
  3. Projects needing collaborators for technical validation or cross-site comparison

Scientific Research

  1. Early-stage ideas or hypotheses that require input to shape a methodological plan
  2. Ongoing studies seeking collaborators for data collection, analysis, or interpretation
  3. Completed studies that need support with discussion, dissemination, or follow-up project design

Open Science & Science Communication

  1. Initiatives that enhance reproducibility, accessibility, or community engagement
  2. Citizen science projects or public outreach efforts
  3. Projects aiming to build educational tools, datasets, or community resources

Educational Materials & Literature Reviews

  1. Development of educational resources, training modules, or online learning platforms
  2. (Systematic) literature reviews, meta-analyses, or evidence mapping projects
  3. Initiatives to support knowledge dissemination or capacity building within the community

Required Components

All project abstracts must include:

1. Introduction and motivation

  • Background and rationale
  • Clear gap in knowledge being addressed
  • Relevance to clinical practice, technological advancement or scientific community

2. Objectives

  • Explicit objective(s)

3. Proposed methodology

Can include, but is not limited to:

  • For scientific research: proposal of study setup, population, data acquisition, data analysis and statistical analysis
  • For tool or software development: description of the tool/functionality, technical approach or framework, planned development steps, intended users, and plans for testing or validation.
  • For open science initiatives: goals related to accessibility, reproducibility, or transparency; planned activities (e.g., repository creation, standardization efforts); and proposed community engagement.
  • For science communication or outreach projects:  target audience, communication medium, planned content or format, dissemination strategy, and (if applicable) evaluation or feedback approach.
  • For educational materials: target audience, format, key topics or skills to be covered, and methods of development.
  • For literature reviews: research question or topic, inclusion/exclusion criteria, databases to be searched, and planned methods for evidence synthesis (e.g., PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews).

4. Current status of the project

Clearly state the status of the project (conceptual, ongoing) and possible funding information.

5. Call for collaboration

Describe your input and expertise for this project, and the type of input, expertise, or partnership you're seeking from the community.

Evaluation Criteria

All submitted project abstracts will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  1. Clarity of the project and objectives
  2. Soundness of proposed methodology
  3. Potential for impact and relevance for the MRI community
  4. Openness to collaboration

Important Notes

  • Project abstracts are intended to be structured and purposeful proposals that outline a research initiative, tool, or outreach concept in development and, in need of community engagement. The project proposer should remain the driving force behind the initiative.
  • Projects can be at any stage — from early conceptual ideas to ongoing work seeking feedback, collaboration, or planning for next steps. Even completed projects, where data acquisition and analysis are finished but support is needed for discussion, follow-up studies, or dissemination, are welcome.
  • A clear description of the project’s current status and the type of input or collaboration needed is essential.
  • Unlike other abstract categories, project abstracts are open to all types of work, including: research and development, open science and community-oriented initiatives, tool and infrastructure development, science communication and outreach, (systematic) reviews, and creation of educational materials.
  • Accepted project abstracts will be presented during a power pitch session, followed by a project market, at the 2025 ESMRMB conference to foster discussion, stimulate collaboration, and build momentum for the next phase of the project.
  • There is no requirement to submit final results, but authors are encouraged to update the community on project progress in future meetings. Authors are also expected to uphold a high level of scientific integrity, ensuring that collaborators are properly acknowledged based on their contributions. We additionally encourage acknowledging the role of the ESMRMB community in supporting the project where appropriate.

Submission Format

Abstracts should be submitted in structured format following the sections outlined above, with a maximum length of 5000 characters (excluding references). Up to two figures may be included showing preliminary data or methodological approach.

Examples

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