Walter E. Washington Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001

The full online scientific program and itinerary planner is available. 

Yes, please submit all affiliate event requests through this form.

Yes, there will be a bus tour of Washington D.C. and also a fun walk/ run scheduled. Please find details on the registration page. 

Yes, we are delighted to have KiddieCorp host the children's program during ASM Microbe 2026. With 40 years of experience, KiddieCorp is a trusted provider of high-quality children's programs and youth services for conventions, trade shows and special events. You may register for childcare services on the registration site.

ASM strives to host inclusive and accessible events that enable all individuals to engage and participate fully. Please visit our Accommodations & Services section for details.

ASM Microbe 2027 will take place on June 22–25 in Chicago. ASM Microbe is the premier forum showcasing the full breadth of microbial sciences and continues to redefine how the scientific community connects with cutting edge research and the leaders advancing discovery. In 2027, the meeting will introduce a meaningful refinement to its overall structure.

In response to feedback from attendees and exhibitors, ASM Microbe will transition from a traditional weekend schedule to a mid-week format. This adjustment represents the next step in the meeting’s ongoing evolution, aligning the event with participant needs, while supporting a more balanced and sustainable experience. The revised schedule is designed to respect personal time on weekends, reduce scheduling conflicts and avoid overlap with holidays, while maintaining the high scientific and educational standards that define ASM Microbe.

This change complements the broader transformation already underway within ASM Microbe, including the launch of a newly reenvisioned tri-located meeting structure debuting in 2026. Under this model, 3 independent, specialized meetings—Health, Applied & Environmental Microbiology and Mechanism Discovery—are convened under the ASM Microbe umbrella to provide comprehensive access to cutting-edge microbial science.

Additional details regarding the schedule and program for ASM Microbe 2027 will be released at this year’s meeting in Washington, D.C.

Attendees of ASM Microbe 2026 will be able to self-generate the following continuing education certificates and general participation certificates within the ASM Microbe 2026 Certificate & Credit Portal after the meeting:

• Certificate of Poster Presentation.
• Certificate of Attendance.
• P.A.C.E.® Certificate.
• California Clinical Laboratory Personnel Certificate.
• Florida Clinical Laboratory Personnel Certificate.

To assist with the process, please refer to the following guides:

• ASM Microbe 2026 Certificate Quick Guide: Attendance & Poster Presentation.
• ASM Microbe 2026 Certificate & Credit Portal Guide.

Attendees of ASM Microbe 2026 who opted to pay the $75 fee for the opportunity to claim AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ (CME) credit hours for eligible sessions will receive an email with a required evaluation that must be completed to receive credit. Upon completion of the evaluation, you will receive your CME certificate by email from The France Foundation (TFF).

Yes, all abstract presenters must register for the meeting no later than Wednesday, April 1. Failure to register by 11:59 p.m., April 1, 2026, will result in the withdrawal of your abstract from the scientific program.

The registration deadline listed on the registration page does not apply to abstract submitters.

ASM membership is not required to submit or present an abstract. However, membership is required to apply for and receive an ASM Award or Travel Grant.

Presenting authors may submit up to 3 unique abstracts. Only 1 abstract may be presented each day. If you have 3 abstracts accepted, you will have 1 presentation scheduled over 3 days: Friday, June 5; Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7.

There is no fee to submit an abstract at this time.

For technical support, contact: asm@support.ctimeetingtech.com, 217-398-1792. Support hours are Monday—Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. CT.

Early Abstract Submission: Wednesday, Nov. 12-Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2 p.m. ET.

Early Abstract decisions will be communicated on or about Tuesday, Dec. 16 (accept/reject only, sessioning information for accepted abstracts will be released March 4).

Regular Abstract Submission: Wednesday, Dec. 3-Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2 p.m. ET.

Regular Abstract Decisions Communicated: March 4.

Submission deadlines are firm. Late submissions will not be accepted for review.

An Early Abstract is a mechanism for abstract submitters who need an early decision for a VISA to submit and be reviewed, with a decision communicated on/around Dec. 16, 2025. To utilize this option, submit during the Early Abstract submission period from Wednesday, Nov. 12-Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2 p.m. ET.  No early abstract submissions will be accepted after this time. 

Note: sessioning information will not be communicated until March 4.
 
The Regular Abstract submission period is intended for submitters who do not require additional time to acquire a VISA for travel to the U.S. to present their abstracts if accepted. Regular Abstracts may be submitted from Dec. 3-Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2 p.m. ET. They will be reviewed in the regular window with dispositions being sent on/around March 4, 2026.

Late Breaking Abstracts are intended to highlight new, high‑impact findings that were not available at the time of the regular abstract deadline. If offered in 2026, late breaking topics will be determined by the Program Committee Chairs and announced in March 2026, with abstract submissions due in early April 2026. Submissions are limited to the designated Late Breaking topics and must demonstrate exceptional timeliness and significance. This category is not an extension of the regular abstract deadline and is not intended for work that was ready but not submitted on time. 

For a meeting of this size, it is not possible to consider special scheduling requests. If 2 or more abstracts are scheduled at the same time, you are invited to have a co-author present 1 of the abstracts.

Yes, ASM considers the submitting author to be the presenting author. Contact information is collected for the submitter and the presenting author. ASM will only correspond with the presenting author of the accepted abstract. This policy ensures that the presenter knows when and where to present the abstract.

Note: If you and a colleague are both submitting an abstract, there is no guarantee that both will be placed into the same session(s), if accepted. Due to the size of the meeting and the number of presentations, we will not accept special scheduling requests for abstract presentations.

Due to the size of the meeting and the number of presentations, we will not accept special scheduling requests for abstract presentations.

Authors can be updated up to the submission deadline. Requests after this date will not be accommodated.

All abstracts are considered complete at the time the submission portal closes.

Yes. If you and your co-authors come from more than 1 affiliation, be sure to type common affiliations in exactly the same manner. Review the author block when displayed to see if the correct numbers of affiliations are displayed.

Your abstract may be written without the use of the following bolded headers: 

• Background.
• Materials.
• Results.
• Conclusion.

Follow the abstract guidelines to ensure all required information about your study is provided in your abstract.  

We recommend that you prepare and save a copy of your abstract in your personal electronic files before going to ASM’s web page. After your submission is complete, you will receive a confirmation email.

All early and regular ASM Microbe abstracts will be embargoed until May 4, 2026. Late-breaking abstracts will be embargoed until May 28, 2026. Embargo times and dates will be clearly marked on all press releases.
 
Press releases and other promotional activity by third parties must coincide with the date and time of the presentation. 

When asking for outside comments on press releases or news stories before the embargo has lifted, journalists are requested to ensure that the embargo is respected. ASM reserves the right to ban any journalist from the meeting who breaks the embargo or breaches the media policy in any other way. 

If your research has already been published, please contact the ASM communications office to discuss how to handle promoting your abstract at communications@asmusa.org. 

Yes. Your abstract may have a maximum limit of 2,200 characters, which does not include tables/graphics or spaces. Title, authors, groups and institutions do not count toward the character count maximum. 
 
A Times New Roman Font is recommended. Avoid use of fonts specific to the software application you use. This is particularly true for symbols, as some character sets do not translate well, resulting in lost information. 
 
Note: an additional entry line has been added to the electronic submission to accommodate credits, footnotes, etc.; a character limit of 300 is applied to this field but does not count toward the character count of the abstract body.

The Abstract Submission system will provide a control number as soon as you complete the affirmations and provide a title for your abstract. As you complete individual steps in the process, the system will display the results. At the end of the process, a final summary page will be immediately displayed with all information successfully received. You may edit your abstract until the submission deadline of Jan. 21, 2026, 2 p.m. ET. No further changes can be made after submission closes. Your abstract must show as complete or finalized when submission closes in order to move to the review stage. Incomplete abstracts will not be reviewed.
 

No. If your abstract is "Complete," it means you have completed all the steps required to be reviewed. Abstracts are assigned to the reviewers in January. Disposition letters will be e-mailed to submitters on/about March 4, 2026.

No. Programming decisions are final.

Yes, all abstract presenters must register for the meeting no later than Wednesday, April 1. Failure to register by 11:59 p.m. April 1, 2026, will result in the withdrawal of your abstract from the scientific program.

The registration deadline listed on the registration page does not apply to abstract submitters. 

 

No, all presentations are expected to be made in person. In-person attendance is required.

 

The 2026 ASM Microbe Travel Award application process is separate from abstract submissions. Do not submit an abstract during the Early Abstract submission window if you apply for a travel award. Applicants will submit an abstract as a requirement of the Travel Award selection criteria. If an applicant is selected for a Travel Award, the abstract will automatically be accepted for presentation at ASM Microbe 2026, and they will be sent additional instructions. 

Travel Awards applications closed on Dec. 2, 2025. Applicants were notified if they were selected to receive an award by Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025.  
 
Applicants not selected to receive a Travel Award may submit an abstract for review through the ASM Microbe 2026 abstract submission site after Travel Award notifications are issued on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. Regular abstract submissions close on Jan. 21, 2 p.m. ET. 
 
Important note: Please do not submit an abstract for consideration through the abstract submission site if your participation at ASM Microbe is dependent on receiving a Travel Award to fund your participation.

Eligibility requirements to be considered for all travel award submissions:

• Current ASM member at the time of application.
• Scientific abstract not previously published or presented at another conference. 
• Curriculum vitae (CV) including scientific focus area.
• Two letters of nominations on institution letterhead written by the Department Chair and Principal Investigator or immediate Director.
• Not previously a recipient of an ASM Microbe travel award within the last 2 years. 

Travel award funds are non-transferable and will be provided following the conclusion of ASM Microbe 2026 upon confirming awardee’s attendance at the meeting.

If you are unable to secure a visa in time for travel to the meeting, and you do not have a co-author who can present in your absence, you must withdraw your abstract. If you do not receive visa status by April 1, you must register for the meeting, or your abstract will be withdrawn. Registration may be cancelled by May 5 to receive a full refund minus a $50 cancellation processing fee. All cancellations must be emailed to microbe@maritz.com and received by May 5, 2026. After this date, registration refunds will not be issued due to inability to secure a visa. 

To withdraw your abstract without incurring a penalty, you must do so by April 1, 2026. You can withdraw your abstract by sending an email to asmmicrobemtgprogram@asmusas.org, referencing the control number of the abstract you wish to withdraw.

Encore abstracts are not permitted, however, ASM will consider "adapted" or "repurposed" submissions that overlap with the original abstract but contain new/additional data, analyses and/or interpretations. It is the responsibility of the author to verify copyright with the organizer of the meeting where the original abstract was presented.
 
What are some examples of abstracts that may be rejected?

• Abstracts that are general descriptions of a new product.
• Abstracts that read like advertisements.
• Abstracts that are a general description of managerial innovation.
• Case reports (unless truly remarkable).

• Abstracts that are general descriptions of a new product.
• Abstracts that read like advertisements.
• Abstracts that are a general description of managerial innovation.
• Case reports (unless truly remarkable).

This information will be provided closer to the date of the conference.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated in submitted abstracts. All submitted abstracts identified with plagiarism will be sent to the program committee for review and handling.   

The NIH ORI publication Avoiding Plagiarism, Self-Plagiarism, and other Questionable Writing Practices: A Guide to Ethical Writing.

  

 

All information related to your abstract submission is available in your speaker portal within the Tasks tab.  

  

 

Please refer to the ASM Copyright Policy to learn more.