Contribute to the 41st AACVPR Annual Meeting

The AACVPR Annual Meeting is the premier place for cardiopulmonary rehabilitation professionals to come together and move the field forward. Make your voice heard at the 41st Annual Meeting by submitting a session proposal or scientific research proposal.  

Make a Submission

Important Dates and Deadlines

Session Proposals

The AACVPR Program Planning Committee and its track-focused subcommittees are now accepting proposals for educational breakout sessions, interactive sessions, lightning sessions, and workshops. Please refer to the information outlined in the session submission guidelines to ensure your proposal meets our criteria. 

The committee is looking for presenters to: 

• Identify clinical innovation and research advances that address challenges in the contemporary healthcare landscape. 
• Describe new delivery models and implementation strategies. 
• Demonstrate new cognitive sets/skills, creative thinking skills, and/or technological adjuncts. 
• Share outcomes and advances in cardiac and pulmonary science/research. 
• Discuss new understandings of disease and disease pathophysiology and management. 
• Discuss strategies to mitigate disparities of care in patient referral as well as delivery of care. 
• Describe effective networking skills within the hospital/ACA system. 
• Identify methods to improve competencies of rehabilitation professionals. 
• Discuss strategies to improve the relationship of rehabilitation programs with corollary services. 
• Provide any other information to improve the quality and effectiveness of rehabilitation services. 
• Identify techniques to create health-equitable practice. 

Session Types

• Workshop Session: 3-hour workshop that operates independently from the rest of the conference with additional registration; often offers a mixture of theory and practice (eg., exercise intensity, pulmonary assessment skills, coaching skills for behavior change).
• Breakout Session: 60- or 75-minute didactic session focused on a specific topic in a particular track (eg., cardiovascular rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, behavior change, nutrition, and program management).
• Interactive Session (Formerly Rapid-Fire Sessions): 45-minute session designed to actively engage attendees through discussion, case-based learning, or collaborative problem-solving. This format allows presenter(s) to incorporate interactive elements such as small group discussion, debate, game show, etc.
• Lightning Session: Brief, 15-minute didactic presentation designed to introduce early-stage ideas, emerging questions, or exploratory concepts. These sessions are intentionally lightweight and may be combined with other related proposals to form larger discussions or thematic panels. Ideal for contributors who wish to share a spark of insight without requiring a fully developed talk.

Scientific Abstracts

Scientific abstracts may be submitted for presentation for one of two formats: oral presentation or poster presentation. Researchers who are within five years of their latest degree or final training (i.e., fellowship, residency) may also submit to be considered for a Beginning Investigator presentation. Please review the Scientific Abstract Submissions Guidelines before beginning your submission.

Submission Types

When submitting your proposal, please indicate your preference for a poster or oral presentation. If you are open to either format, you will be able to indicate this in the submission portal when prompted.

• Oral Abstract Presentation: Each presenter will be expected to develop presentation slides for a 7–10-minute talk reviewing the rationale, key methods, main results, conclusions, and comment on the "real-world, clinical application" of their findings. Oral abstract presenters will expect to submit their presentation in PDF or PPT format by August 17, 2026.
• Poster Presentation: Poster authors will be responsible for hanging their printed posters at the Annual Meeting. Presenters are also expected to speak to their research as well as answer attendee questions during the annual poster reception and during any additional dedicated poster viewing times throughout the conference.

Scientific abstracts can be submitted under the following tracks:

• Cardiovascular Rehabilitation
• Clinical & Preventative Cardiology
• Pulmonary Rehabilitation & Medicine
• Behavior Change, Nutrition, & Psychosocial
• Physical Activity/Exercise
• Quality Improvement

Accepted abstracts will be included in the electronic version of the September-October 2026 issue of the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention (JCRP) and will be featured in the AACVPR Annual Meeting mobile app for 3 months following the conclusion of the meeting.

Special Scientific Abstract Opportunities

• Beginning Investigator Award: The Beginning Investigator Award is given to outstanding researchers who are currently enrolled in a terminal degree program or are within five years of their degree or final training (i.e., MD/DO, fellowship, residency, PhD, PharmD, MPH), and who have not previously won the award. Some examples of eligible authors are included below:
  • A student pursuing a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree conducting research as part of their degree program.
  • A recent BS/MS graduate (within 5 years of graduation) conducting research as part of their job.
  • A MD/DO, MPH, or PhD Student conducting research as part of their degree program, thesis or dissertation.
  • A PhD completing a post-graduate fellowship.
  • A PhD or MD that completed their residency or fellowship less than 5 years ago.

If you meet these qualifications, you may submit your scientific abstract for consideration using the prompts within the submission portal. Each finalist will give an 8–10-minute oral platform presentation during a special session at the 41st Annual Meeting. One presentation will be selected as the winner and receive a plaque and $250 from AACVPR.

• JCRP Featured Science Submissions (Formerly Late Breaking Manuscript Submissions): AACVPR is again soliciting abstracts for the JCRP Featured Science submission type (formerly Late Breaking Manuscript Submission type). JCRP Featured Science submissions are due March 13, 2026 (11:59 pm CT). The scientific abstracts submitted to this category will 3 be reviewed by the AACVPR Research Committee and the JCRP Editors Team. The authors of the highest scoring submission will be invited to submit a full manuscript for expedited peer review and publication consideration in JCRP. The authors will also be invited to present their findings during an oral abstract session at the Annual Meeting. If the manuscript is accepted after the peer review process, it will then be published online ahead of print by the AACVPR Annual Meeting. Authors interested in submitting to the JCRP Featured Science Submission category will need to request consideration of their abstract for this opportunity within the submission portal and will need to confirm their ability to submit the full manuscript to JCRP for peer review by June 1, 2026. 

Please note: 

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