Online registration will be open from November 1, 2024, through March 29, 2025. Individuals can access on-site registration beginning March 26, 2025. Early bird pricing is available on or before February 26. Prices increase by $50 on February 27. To register, click here.

* SBM strives to provide valuable information and learning opportunities, however, please note that Continuing Education (CE) credits will not be offered for any parts of the Annual Meeting program.

2025 Annual Meeting Early-Bird Registration Prices

• SBM Members
  • Full/Associate/Emeritus Members: $510
  • Transitional: $410
  • Student/Trainee Members: $225
• Non-Members
  • Non-Member: $890
  • Non-Member Student/Trainee: $320
• One-Day
  • One-Day Registration: $425

Pre-Conference Courses can be registered for independently or in addition to your Annual Meeting registration. Course descriptions can be found here.

Underrepresented First-Time Attendees can have registration fees waived thanks to support from SBM. Look for this option on the registration form. Discounts also available for attendees from low- or middle-income countries.

Student Volunteering offers an opportunity for approximately 30 student members to earn complimentary registration. The application period for SBM Student Member Volunteers will open in early January 2025.

Guest Registrations Registered guests will ONLY be admitted to the non-ticketed sessions and the poster hall. No registration is required for guests age 17 and under. Society members or authors/co-authors of abstracts may not use the guest fee discount registration. Guest fee (limit 1) = $75 Attendees are welcome to bring children to conference sessions, and local SBM leaders can help identify childcare options if needed. Minors do NOT need to have a guest registration.

Cancellations Any registration cancellations must be due to professional and/or personal/family health emergencies (including contracting COVID-19) and be made in writing directly to the SBM national office by April 5, 2025. All cancellations are subject to a non-refundable $100 administration fee. Refunds will be processed following the Annual Meeting.  

The 2025 Annual Meeting will be taking place at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square. SBM's 2025 Hotel Room Blocks are open now!

The 2025 Annual Meeting website is the ONLY SBM-authorized system for registering for the conference or booking guest rooms at the Hilton San Francisco - Union Square conference hotel. Should you be contacted by any group claiming to represent SBM and urging you to book hotel rooms or register for the meeting through their services (especially at “lower” rates) please be aware that SBM does not work through or contract with any such groups.

Why stay at the conference hotel?

• Help keep meeting costs down for attendees, especially students. The more attendees who stay at the host hotel, the better negotiating power SBM has for lower room rates at future conference hotel properties!
• Conveniently access conference sessions, networking events, and other special activities.
• Easily return to your room if you forgot something or need a break.

Student Booking ($239 Double)

Standard/Government Booking Rate ($259 Single and Double)

Abstract Submissions Open: July
Abstract Submissions Close: September 6, 2024
Rapid Communication Poster Submissions Open: October 14, 2024
Rapid Communication Poster Submissions Close: November 21, 2024

Regular and rapid abstract submissions have closed. Thank you to all who submitted and reviewed!

Abstract Submission Notification: Confirmation emails may go to your spam folder.  If you DO NOT receive an email notification regarding your abstract being submitted within 48 hours of submitting it please reach out to SBM.

Abstract Acceptance Notification: Confirmation emails may go to your spam folder.  If you DO NOT receive an email notification regarding your abstract submission by December 6, 2024, or by January 10, 2025, for rapid abstracts, please reach out to SBM.

For any questions regarding your submission or the abstract submission site, please contact the national office at (414) 918-3156 or at info@sbm.org.

Abstracts MUST be submitted according to SBM's specific guidelines listed below, using SBM's official OpenWater submission website. Abstracts may be submitted as pre-conference courses, symposia, panel discussions, papers, live research spotlights, or posters.

All abstract submissions will be peer reviewed. All accepted abstracts will be published in the Annual Meeting Supplement issue of Annals of Behavioral Medicine, an official journal of SBM. The supplement will serve as the official abstract publication for SBM's 46th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions.

Upon receipt of your submission, OpenWater will issue an email confirmation to the submitting author. Authors can expect to receive the email confirmation of their submission within 48 hours (or two business days) after submission. If you do not receive a confirmation email from the abstract system within 48 hours of submitting your abstract, contact the national office at (414) 918-3156 or at info@sbm.org.

Character Limit: There is a limit of 2,500 characters including spaces. The 2,500 character limit does not include title or author list. For symposium submissions the limit is 25,000 characters in including spaces.

Complete and Original Results: Each abstract should represent complete and original results. If you want to present a “Works in Progress” (e.g., design and methods of a large clinical trial) or a “Lessons Learned” (e.g., tips for other researchers) abstract, then this could be included in a panel discussion, symposium, or rapid communication poster, but not in a regular poster (until complete data is available). Note that rapid communication poster abstracts have a separate, later deadline than other abstracts. Submitting multiple abstracts in which the same data have been analyzed in different ways, or in which a study is subdivided into small sub-studies, is prohibited and will result in those abstracts being rejected. In addition, this action may result in the individual abstract authors being prohibited from submitting abstracts for future SBM annual meetings. Only if abstracts present unique information that could be published in separate journal articles will multiple submissions from a single project be considered (e.g., if they address theoretically unrelated/distinct hypotheses, if they utilize non-overlapping data/variables, etc.). If multiple presenters claim equal contribution to a project, then they can co-present the poster at the annual meeting.

Ethical Responsibilities of Submitters: SBM is committed to upholding the integrity of the scientific record. Submitters should refrain from activities that could damage the trust in the society, the professionalism of scientific authorship, and ultimately the entire scientific endeavor. Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to, presenting others’ data, text, or theories as if they are your own (“plagiarism”); misrepresenting research results; and fabricating or manipulating data to support your conclusions. If there is a suspicion of misconduct, the implicated author(s) will be contacted and given an opportunity to address the issue in a timely fashion. If misconduct is established or the author(s) do not respond to inquiries, this may result in the Annual Meeting Planning Committee rejecting the submission, removing the presentation, retracting the published abstract, and/or prohibiting the author(s) from submitting abstracts for future SBM annual meetings. Additional actions may be taken in accordance with SBM’s code of ethics and enforcement procedures.

Empirical/Non-Empirical Research: Poster abstracts submitted for presentation must be based on empirical research and report actual (not promised) results. Poster submissions, except for Works in Progress and Lessons Learned rapid communication posters, must also be based on empirical research and report actual (not promised) results. Abstracts for courses, panel discussions, and symposia may include empirical and/or non-empirical contributions. 

Empirical work includes primary quantitative research (e.g., observational studies, clinical trials) and primary qualitative research (e.g., interviews, focus groups), with both requiring appropriate methods for gleaning insights (e.g., the use of appropriate statistics for quantitative data and appropriate processing of qualitative data, such as thematic analysis). Empirical research can also be of a secondary nature and involve the use of prior empirical work, such as review articles. Note that for these types of empirical contributions, the work does need to use accepted procedures for organizing and processing that information including both quantitative (e.g., meta-analysis) or qualitative (e.g., meta-synthesis, scoping or narrative reviews) approaches. Literature reviews that do not use an accepted protocol for organizing the literature and gleaning insights will NOT be considered empirical but could be discussed within courses, panels, or symposia. 

Prior Publication Policy: Abstracts that have been published or presented elsewhere prior to the time of presentation at the 46th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions may not be submitted for consideration by SBM. Abstracts that were accepted for SBM’s 45th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions should not be re-submitted for the 2025 meeting. Work may be submitted for publication after the abstract submission deadline, prior to the annual meeting, and still be presented at the meeting (even if it is published prior to the meeting).

Abstract Presentation Limit: Authors are limited to participation as “presenter” in a maximum of three abstract submissions. Presenters of accepted abstracts must register for and attend the annual meeting.

Poster Mentoring Program: Student SBM members can check a box in the abstract submission portal to have their poster presentations evaluated by a senior SBM member. Because of the Poster Mentoring Program’s popularity, interested students are selected via a random drawing. Selected students are matched with senior members based on common behavioral medicine interests when possible. Those senior members then stop by the student’s poster presentation to offer feedback and advice in person.

Presenter Registration: Each presenting author is responsible for his/her registration fee(s). Presenters who are unable to register for the annual meeting should arrange for another individual to present in person on their behalf. If changes to the listing of your presenting author are necessary, please notify the SBM national office (414) 918-3156 or info@sbm.org.

Withdrawn Abstracts: Abstract presenters who withdraw a presentation may be denied the right to submit an abstract for the 2026 SBM Annual Meeting. The only exceptions to this policy are (1) absence due to weather-related issues that hinder a presenter’s travel to the meeting, (2) absence due to a work-related emergency, or (3) absence related to personal injury or family health emergency. Miscalculation of travel costs by the presenter does not qualify as an acceptable reason to withdraw one’s abstract. In the event this occurs, no refunds will be given.

Abstract/Presentation Language: All abstract submissions must be in English. All presentations based on accepted abstract submissions must be made in English.

Thematic Submissions Encouraged: Submissions are especially encouraged that reflect the theme for the 46th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions: “Context Matters: Bridging Perspectives in Behavioral Medicine".

Open Science Practices Encouraged: Submitters will have the opportunity to declare their open science practices for the submitted work, including preregistered design, preregistered analyses, shared materials, and posted data. SBM is committed to promoting more open science practices among members and at the annual meeting. For more information on these practices and their benefits, see the Center for Open Science (https://cos.io/) or other resources.

Q: Can I submit a “meta-synthesis” for the Annual Meeting? (a meta-synthesis is similar to a meta-analysis but provides an evidence-based integration of qualitative studies).
A: Yes, you can submit a meta-synthesis as long as the synthesis includes sufficient published data (in this case qualitative data) to warrant a meta-synthesis and as long as the work utilizes strong methodology (as supported by existing literature).

Q: Can I submit an abstract that presents the aims, design, and methods for an ongoing trial? We are still collecting data, so this would be the equivalent to a design paper in a journal.
A: You may submit methods/design relevant abstracts as part of relevant panels or symposia and as rapid communication posters but not as regular poster presentations, which require complete data at the time of submission

Q: Can I submit an abstract that explains our experiences as researchers and “lessons learned” when conducting large clinical trials (e.g., partnering with clinics and engaging hard-to-reach patients for a community-level intervention)? Although this type of abstract would not involve sharing statistical results, would it still be considered empirical research?
A: This would fit into empirical work if you gathered qualitative data on this topic area and presented the qualitative data. If you do not have qualitative data, then this would fit better into a symposium whereby you could discuss these areas in the context of others who are working in a similar domain. Lessons learned can also be submitted as rapid communication posters —but not as regular poster presentations.

Q: After submission of an abstract for presentation at the Annual Meeting, is the author prohibited from submitting a manuscript for publication (based off the presentation submission) prior to the presentation date?
A: Authors may submit their work for publication in a journal after the SBM annual meeting submission deadline has passed but before the annual meeting occurs. If you follow these rules and the paper ends up being published prior to the conference, then you do NOT need to withdraw the SBM submission.

Q: Is it allowed for a larger study to be divided into several abstract submissions (e.g., so that several graduate students from the same lab can present)?
A: SBM recognizes the importance of having graduate students present their work at the annual meeting, even if their work is part of a team-based project. However, the individual abstracts should be distinct enough to warrant publication as separate papers—that is, address unique theoretical questions (distinct enough for separate publication), use non-overlapping data, etc. If the abstracts would be combined into one manuscript for publication in a journal, then they should not be separated for submissions to the SBM annual meeting. Instead, consider having two students co-present at the same session (papers or posters, for example).

Q: Can I submit a literature review for presentation?
A: A literature review can be submitted for presentation as a paper/poster only if it includes empirical data. However, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and meta-syntheses can be considered empirical if they use literature-supported empirical methods (for determining the included articles, for synthesizing quantitative or qualitative findings in the literature, etc.) and utilize the included literature as data/evidence. Otherwise, literature reviews may fit within a relevant panel discussion or symposium.

SBM's Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions features a variety of presentation formats including pre-conference courses, symposia, panel discussions, papers, live research spotlights, and posters.

Pre-Conference Courses are 2 hour sessions held on Wednesday. Course design should allow attendees to acquire skills and/or expand practice or research knowledge. Content can center on scientific or educational topics of interest to a specific portion of the meeting audience and/or of an SBM council/committee/SIG. If by the Early Bird Registration an attendance of 10 or more individuals has not received the session may be cancelled.

Symposia are held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday during the meeting. They are scheduled for 50 minutes. Presenters will examine important issues from a variety of different perspectives. Presentations and debate among participants will address alternative solutions, interpretations, or points-of-view on an identified body of knowledge within the advertised topic area or theme. A discussant will summarize/draw conclusion at the end of the session. One “Overview” abstract from the chair/organizer, which will summarize the session is required. There does not need to be separate abstract for each presentation but, each presentation should still include its own introduction, methods, and results. A discussant does not need to submit an abstract, but should be listed as a co-author in the Overview abstract.

Panel Discussions are 50 minute sessions, presented on Thursday or Friday, focus on specific topics with various viewpoints expressed by a panel of experts. One abstract is submitted for the entire session, by the Panel Chair/Organizer.

Paper presentations are offered on Thursday and Friday during the meeting. They are clustered with three other papers around common themes and presented via oral presentations that are approximately 10 minutes in length per paper presentation. One abstract is submitted per paper presentation.

Live Research Spotlight presentations are offered on Thursday and Friday during the meeting. They are clustered with up to six other live research spotlights around common themes and presented via oral presentations that are approximately 7 minutes in length per spotlight presentation. One abstract is submitted per live research spotlight presentation.

Poster presentations take place Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Presentations are grouped thematically within the poster/exhibit hall. Poster Sessions allow abstract authors to discuss their research with interested colleagues for 50 minutes in an informal setting. One abstract is submitted per poster presentation.

Rapid Communication Posters offer the opportunity for presentation of late-breaking findings in the field of behavioral medicine. Rapid communication posters are scheduled during the poster sessions on the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Only one abstract needs to be submitted per proposed rapid communication poster presentation. Rapid communication poster abstract submissions are done separate from other submission types, and the call for rapids will open in the fall.