Postbac Poster Day

If you are a current NIH postbac, Postbac Poster Day is your opportunity to share the research you have been doing at NIH and practice your communication and networking skills. Whether you are new to NIH or have been here for a while, we encourage postbacs to take advantage of this opportunity to present your work.

NIH Postbac Poster Day will be held on Thursday April 30, 2026 at the Natcher Conference Center (Building 45) on the main campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

Registration closes at 5 pm ET on March 19, 2026.

The agenda and program book will be posted by April 10. 2026.

The Natcher Conference Center is Building 45 on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Bethesda Campus, about five miles from Washington, DC. Postbacs who wish to invite guests to campus for Postbac Poster Day must follow guidelines for inviting visitors (VisitNIH resources, you must be on VPN to access).

All IRTA/CRTA postbacs are welcome to present. You should discuss your plan to participate with your PI before registering. You can share background information on your project, present data you may have collected, discuss any technical problems you might have encountered, and show results.

You, like many of your postbac peers, may have just started and unable to share a full story. We still encourage you to present - posters of all lengths of a story, or something else are welcome. Feel free to present a literature review or a completely new proposal.

Whatever your plan, be sure to discuss your idea with your supervisor or PI before registering.

Registration is closed.

• Will I receive a confirmation email after registration?
  Yes, a confirmation email will come from [email protected] with the subject “Thank you for your submission. We will review and process your submission”.
  This message confirms your participation in the event. No further steps are needed.
• I have multiple projects and I want to present them all. Can I submit multiple poster titles (or multiple registrations)?
  No. Please talk with your supervisor and choose one project you want to share the most. Or, if you can connect them to one theme, you might consider putting them all into one poster.
• Can I change the title of my poster?
  No modifications will be accepted after registration. You are welcome to modify the title on your actual poster.  The complete program book will, however, include the title you submitted. For this reason, you must confirm your poster title with your supervisor BEFORE you register.
• I would like to add another presenter to my poster. Can I do that?
  The registration survey allows up to two additional authors besides the presenter. You can add another presenter to the poster itself; actually, you should consider adding authors who have contributed to your project including your supervisor and your PI. Authors’ names will not appear in the program book.
• I want to co-present. Can we do that? 
  No. We believe planning, data collection, poster creation, and presentation are all essential skills. We recommend that each person register individually and prepare and present a poster, with each focusing on a different aspect of the project.
• I have just learned that I will not be able to present my poster on Postbac Poster Day.  What should I do?
  Please let us as soon as possible if you will not be able to present.

Your poster should meet the guidelines outlined in our recommendations for creating a poster.

All poster sessions will be judged by teams of graduate students, postdocs, staff scientists, and staff clinicians. The authors of posters scoring in the top 20 percent will receive a letter acknowledging their accomplishment. Note: The first author is responsible for presenting the poster and is eligible to win an outstanding poster award.

• When will we get information on our assigned session?
  Registered presenters will receive an email containing their poster session and number and other details by April 10, 2026.
• How will posters be evaluated?
  Posters are judged on scientific content, visual presentation, and the presenter’s ability to clearly explain their research and answer questions.
• Can I choose my session? 
  No. Posters are assigned by IC and based on IC registration numbers to ensure an equal distribution of posters across sessions. We appreciate fellows may have certain preferences due to scheduling conflicts or other reasons, but we are not able to accommodate individual requests.
• Will poster titles be released to the general NIH community so that they can attend sessions that interest them?
  Yes. The program book includes presenter information and poster titles.