Call for Symposium Proposals

The Canadian Nutrition Society (CNS) is seeking conference symposium proposals for its 2025 Annual Conference that will be held on May 8-10, 2025, in Montréal, Québec.

CNS invites proposal submissions from CNS members in good standing, and encourages symposia that reflects the basic science and clinical membership base and the incorporation of these perspectives in our sessions. Please note that only well-considered and complete proposals will be reviewed for consideration. The tremendous success of the conference year after year is due in large part to the efforts of submissions by its members addressing timely and cutting-edge advances in nutritional sciences. Further, CNS is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the Society’s culture, operations and activities. As such we encourage submissions that include diversity in subject matter, as well as in speakers and moderators.

All conference session proposals are reviewed based on the following criteria:

• Content will contribute to the field of nutritional sciences. A balance of sessions in the areas of biomedical, clinical, public health / regulatory.
• Sessions will meet the educational needs of conference attendees and complement the overall conference program.
• Availability of credible speakers.
• Applicability of knowledge translation. *
• Proposed sessions will be objective and balanced. A priority will be placed on sessions that will offer new, novel and cross-cutting content. **

* Knowledge Translation
Respecting the diversity of attendees from varying nutrition sectors, CNS is continuing to emphasize the importance of a knowledge translation component within each presentation (i.e., take away messages/what’s next, how to apply to practice). All session proposals require an explanation about knowledge translation opportunities within the session. As a guideline, speakers should aim for 20% of their presentations to focus on knowledge translation / take-away messages.

** Novelty/Cutting Edge sessions
Each year CNS receives an increasing number of session submissions for its annual conference. To help the planning committee prioritize, a focus on sessions that offer new, novel and cross-cutting ideas will take place. This will be important information to include within your session proposal. 

Session Chairs
Session Chairs play an important role in the smooth planning and delivery of sessions. The CNS staff team is very reliant on Chairs who are fully engaged and serve as a representative of the session speakers. The Planning Committee will be choosing Chairs for each session carefully and welcomes suggestions via the session proposals. Preference should be on identifying Chairs who are CNS members in good standing and will fully engage in:

• Supporting speakers in the development of their presentations, ensuring that the final presentations match the session title and description as it will appear in the conference program.
• Organizing and facilitating any planning meetings among speakers, CNS leading up to the Annual Conference. 
• Ensuring that all information and required materials are submitted by the stated deadlines (i.e., names/bios/photos, session descriptions, presentations).
• Ensuring that each speaker has adequately included any disclosures/conflicts of interest in their presentation deck, and that each speaker will thoroughly present this information at the start of their talk.
• Confirming that all speaker presentations appropriately address the knowledge translation/take-away message requirements.
• Selecting a relevant abstract (if available) to allow a trainee or postdoctoral scholar the opportunity to present (15 minutes) during the session.
• Serve as a point of contact to CNS staff leading up to and during the conference.
• Moderate the Q and A period during the session. 

Session Format
The CNS conference is organized into underlying themes: biomedical, clinical, regulatory/policy and community.  When submitting your proposal, please identify the category that best aligns with the session theme.

The following session formats are available:

• Concurrent sessions: are 60-minutes, which includes a brief introduction, followed by two invited speakers and ideally one short abstract presentation selected by the session chairs from abstract/poster submissions. Concurrent sessions can take the form of interactive/workshop style formats to allow for more delegate engagement in the sessions and to enhance knowledge translation opportunities. This should be explained in the session description. 
  There are three parallel sessions during each concurrent time slot.
• Plenary sessions: are usually 75-90 minutes (TBD when finalizing the program). These sessions typically have no competing sessions.
• Interactive sessions: may be in the form of panel discussions, “debate” or workshop-style sessions to allow for a focus on important topics of interest and ideally to support increased knowledge translation.
• Sponsored Satellite Sessions: provide opportunities for external groups, such as industry, commodity groups, or other relevant stakeholders, to host a session to showcase research findings and engage in dialogue with a dedicated nutrition science and practice community. Visit Sponsored Conference Satellite Sessions for more information. To discuss session ideas and / or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Andrea Grantham, CNS Executive Director. To view the CNS Sponsor Prospectus - CLICK HERE

The preferred format can be chosen from the list of options within the Proposal Submission tool. Note that CNS may also assign a session to a different format than what was indicated within the original submission.

All sessions presented will be presented in English. 

Proposals are due Friday, October 18, 2024 at 11:59pm ET.

Submit Proposal