68th Annual Scientific Meeting

• Preclinical Science: Your study does not include human data
• Clinical Presentation/Diagnosis: Your study's main finding concerns diagnosis, misdiagnosis, or unusual cases
• Epidemiology and Health Outcomes: Your study uses survey / validated scale data or assesses a disease in a population (such as a hospital or group of clinics)
• Translational Research: Human data where the main findings are based on imaging (including biomarkers/biosignatures), neurophysiology (such as evoked potentials), or molecular changes (such as protein changes, molecular biomarkers, or ‘omics)
• Headache Education, Quality Improvement, and Patient Experience: Your study either 1. assesses headache knowledge or involves methods to improve headache knowledge, 2. analyzes methods to improve the process of patient care, or 3. involves advocacy or persons with lived experience
• Therapeutics: Your study focuses on human studies of headache treatments or on the pharmacology of headache treatments
• Other: Your study doesn't fit in the listed categories

While there is no limit on how many abstracts an author can submit or present, AHS does ask that you comply with our Smallest Publishable Unit Policy: The AHS Scientific Meeting guidelines specifically address the parsing of results of a single research study into multiple abstract submissions. 

Examples of this approach include: (a) submission of two different abstracts from a single study ‐ one reporting safety data and the other efficacy data ‐ rather than submitting one abstract; and (b) submission of one abstract on efficacy in the entire study cohort, and another abstract on subgroup analyses. 

Sometimes identified as the “smallest‐publishable unit” strategy, this strategy runs counter to the high standards of scientific presentation at the AHS Annual meeting. Unless a compelling rationale is provided and each abstract clearly cross‐references other abstract(s) generated from the same study, the AHS reserves the right to exclude or merge your submissions. 

Industry abstract submissions are accepted and will be considered in separate categories from other abstracts. Industry abstracts fall into two categories: 

1. Industry-initiated Clinical Trials
2. Industry-initiated Research Involving Drugs, Devices, or other Products with a Commercial Interest. This category will not include investigator-initiated studies that may have industry support.  

Abstracts submitted by industry need to be identified and are not eligible for CME credits. 

Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) tools—such as ChatGPT and others based on large language models (LLMs)—cannot be considered capable of initiating an original piece of research without direction by human authors. They also cannot be accountable for a published work or for research design, which is a generally held requirement of authorship, nor do they have legal standing or the ability to hold or assign copyright. Therefore—in accordance with COPE’s position statement on AI tools—these tools cannot fulfill the role of, nor be listed as, an author of an article. If an author has used this kind of tool to develop any portion of an abstract, its use must be described, transparently and in detail. The author is fully responsible for the accuracy of any information provided by the tool and for correctly referencing any supporting work on which that information depends. Tools that are used to improve spelling, grammar, and general editing are not included in the scope of these guidelines. Abstracts that are determined to be primarily created using AIGC tools may be declined.

• Harold G. Wolff Lecture Award: Given to the best paper on headache, head or face pain, or the nature of pain itself. The recipient of this award will receive $10,000 plus complimentary meeting registration, 4 nights hotel accommodations, and travel expenses.

  View or Download Wolff Award Details

• Early Career Lecture Award: Given to the best paper on headache, head or face pain, or the nature of pain itself written by an "early career" author. The recipient of this award will receive $7,500 plus complimentary meeting registration, 4 nights hotel accommodations, and travel expenses.

  View or Download Early Career Award Details

Do I need to indicate that my abstract has been submitted to other meetings/journals (“Encores”)? 
Yes. You can submit an abstract that has previously been presented/submitted within the last year as long as it is the same data and information. We ask that any “Encore” presentations/submissions are identified when/where they were previously submitted.  

Are there word counts or formatting requirements? 
Yes, for 2026 the following will apply: 

• One Sentence Summary (50 words or less)
• Background (100 words or less)
• Methods (100 words or less)
• Results (100 words or less)
• Conclusion (100 words or less)
• Up to two (2) images and diagrams to support your work

What if my abstract doesn’t have data or is a planned study?  
We do not accept abstracts with no data. We do encourage submissions of data outside of traditional quantitative analysis, including Qualitative data, Methodological analysis, and Systematic reviews. We do not accept protocol registrations or planned studies for which no data are currently available. 

Do I need to complete a financial disclosure? 
Not yet. Only authors of (non-industry) abstracts chosen for oral presentations must complete a financial disclosure. All submitters will be asked to indicate if they have patient consent when including case-based data. 

Do you have an anticipated time for when abstract decisions will be sent out? 
Notifications for abstracts will go out in late March 2026. 

Can I get an extension on the abstract submission deadline? 
Due to the review process and timeline, extensions are not permitted.  

Is there an abstract submission fee? 
No, there is no submission fee.  

Do you accept industry abstracts? 
Yes. Industry abstracts need to be identified and are not eligible for CME credits. Abstracts submitted by industry will be considered in separate categories from other abstracts. Industry abstracts fall into two categories: 
1) Industry-initiated Clinical Trials 
2) Industry-initiated Research Involving Drugs, Devices, or other Products with a Commercial Interest. This category will not include investigator-initiated studies that may have industry support.  

Will abstracts be published? If yes, when and where? 
Accepted abstracts will be published in the journal, Headache®. They are typically in the June edition or sent as a supplement to the June edition.  

Is there a limit on how many abstracts an author can submit or present? 
No, there is no limit. However AHS does ask that you comply with our Smallest Publishable Unit Policy: The AHS Scientific Meeting guidelines specifically address the parsing of results of a single research study into multiple abstract submissions. 

Examples of this approach include: (a) submission of two different abstracts from a single study ‐ one reporting safety data and the other efficacy data ‐ rather than submitting one abstract; and (b) submission of one abstract on efficacy in the entire study cohort, and another abstract on subgroup analyses. 

Sometimes identified as the “smallest‐publishable unit” strategy, this strategy runs counter to the high standards of scientific presentation at the AHS Annual meeting. Unless a compelling rationale is provided and each abstract clearly cross‐references other abstract(s) generated from the same study, the AHS reserves the right to exclude or merge your submissions. 

What is the embargo policy? 
All content and data is embargoed until June 3, 2026 @11:59 pm ET.  

When and where can I view abstracts? 
Abstracts will be available in the event mobile app and the journal, Headache®.  

Are there text abstracts available? 
Yes, in the journal, Headache®.  

When will AHS abstracts be publicly available? 
They are available starting June 3, 2026 @11:59 pm ET. They will be published in the journal, Headache®, as well as through the meeting’s mobile app.  

How do I register for the meeting? 
All accepted abstract lead/presenting authors will receive a special set of instructions with their acceptance notice including information on how to register for the meeting.  

Are lead/presenting authors required to register for the meeting? 
If you plan to present at the meeting, you must register for the meeting.  

What if the lead/presenting author cannot attend the meeting? 
If this arises, AHS will allow one of the other authors to register and present on their behalf.  

Do poster presenters need to register for the meeting? 
Yes, poster presenters must register.  

Still have questions? Contact us.