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The STMM Summer Symposium provides a forum for debate and scientific exchange among doctoral students of all research areas within the Medical Faculty Mannheim, as well as from partnering institutions. Invited speakers will offer interesting insights into translational research.
Our next STMM Summer Symposium will take place on Thursday, July 16th, 2026.
Registrations are open: https://pretix.eu/uni-heidelberg/summersymposium-2026/
Deadline for abstract submission: June July 12th, 2026
(Please see the abstract submission guidelines at the bottom of this page.)
Deadline for attendance only: July 10th, 2026
We expect an exciting line-up that will showcase engaging science from health and life sciences research. All early career researchers are encouraged to participate. Participants will have the opportunity to present and discuss their own research in the form of a poster, poster and flash talk, or selected short talk.
Preliminary program:
08:30 Registration and Welcome
09:00 Impulse talk: Understanding and Shaping Complex Systems: What can we learn from an emerging paradigm
Speaker: Dr Matti Heino (University of Helsinki and Centre for Preventive Medicine and Digital Health, UMM)
Matti T. J. Heino is a social psychologist working on behavioral science applications to crisis resilience and collective action. He holds a doctorate in social sciences from the University of Helsinki, with his dissertation "Complex systems and behaviour change science: Bridging far away lands" establishing foundational connections between these disciplines. His work examines facilitating distributed intelligence, preparedness strategies, and community responses to emerging threats.
10:00 Short talks selected from abstracts
Coffee break
11:00 Flash Talks
12:00 Poster Session 1 with poster walks
Group Photo
Lunch break
13:30 Poster Session 2 with poster walks
Coffee break
14:30 Short talks selected from abstracts
Coffee break
15:45 Announcement of Poster Awards
16:00 Keynote Lecture: Developmental Origins of Medulloblastoma
Speaker: Dr Lena Kutscher (Emmy Noether Junior Group Leader, Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ))
Dr Lena Kutscher’s group is investigating the developmental origins of pediatric brain cancer, using a combination of murine and human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) models. Research in her lab aims to gain a deeper molecular understanding of how progenitor cells typically develop and how pediatric tumors take advantage of these neurodevelopmental programs to drive tumorigenesis.
17:00 Closing remarks
RELATED PREPARATORY WORKSHOPS
A 2-hour hands-on workshop on abstract writing is offered by the STMM on May 20th, 2026 and is bookable through LEARN. Places are limited to 30.
The Introductory Days feature a 2h seminar on June 12th, 2026 on ‘Making figures – practical guidelines’, bookable through LEARN.
A full-day hands-on workshop on presentation skills with rhetoric trainer Simon Wolf is held on July 13th, 2026, and is bookable through LEARN. Places are limited to 15.
Abstract submission guidelines:
Abstracts should be at most 200 words and be written in English; there is no lower word limit. If this is your first abstract, you may find inspiration here or – for the more graphically minded - here.
Any early career scientist, no matter the stage of their research, may submit an abstract. During the registration process, you can choose between poster only or poster and flash talk (a 3-minute teaser of your poster) and indicate whether you would like to be considered in the selection for the short talks. Presenters of a short talk may, if they wish, also present a poster. All those who have submitted an abstract will be notified within three weeks of the abstract submission deadline for which mode of presentation they have been selected.
Posters:
Poster boards will fit posters up to size A0 in portrait orientation. Pins are provided to mount posters to the boards. Mounting posters is possible from 08:30 onwards. Posters must be up by 10:30 and need to be removed between 17:00 and 17:30 at the latest. Please note that the STMM cannot cover printing costs or print posters.
Poster award:
All posters will be evaluated for a poster award:
- Best scientific poster: evaluated by a jury of principal investigators, this award is given for scientific merit. Jury members will be assessing all posters during a poster walk, where authors will have the opportunity to explain their research. One award will be given for each poster session.
- Best poster design: evaluated by the audience, this award is given for visual appeal, clarity, and design. All registered participants will receive a unique token to vote online for their top three posters.
Presentations:
As the Summer Symposium is open to all early career researchers at the faculty and beyond, presenters should include at least one slide geared towards a broad audience, explaining the background of their research and the methodology.
Short talks will last 10 minutes plus 5 minutes for questions.
Flash talks will last exactly 3 minutes without questions. Flash talks should be considered elevator pitches for the posters and should consist of one static slide, no animations, in the style of a graphical abstract.