Call for Abstracts

Submission deadline: September 14, 2026, 23:59 UTC

Notifications of abstract acceptance: January 10, 2027.

Planetary Health is a solutions-oriented, transdisciplinary field and social movement focused on analyzing and addressing the impacts of human disruptions to Earth’s natural systems on human health and all life on Earth. This emerging field of applied research, policy, and practice presents an intentional and catalytic effort to take on one of the greatest challenges the world has faced. It seeks to characterize the impact of human-caused disruptions of Earth’s natural systems on our health and well-being. Planetary Health offers solutions-oriented approaches, bridging different disciplines and sectors, and learning from past successes and failures. 

In June 2027,  the Planetary Health Annual Meeting will be  convened by the Planetary Health Japan Hub in  partnership with the  Planetary Health Alliance. This hybrid meeting (held in-person and virtually) will bring together scientists, educators, students, policymakers, civil-society, private-sector representatives, and others to learn about these complex relationships, seek solutions, and build skills for action and change.

Call for Abstracts

Abstracts may be submitted from any discipline relevant to Planetary Health. We welcome submissions by researchers, clinicians, practitioners, educators, students, business entities, industries, community workers, NGOs, artists, and others, describing a study that has recently been conducted, or a recently completed or in-progress project or initiative. Abstracts may be submitted as either a research study — presenting the results from original scientific research — or as an education, community, art, or policy project. 

 Guidelines for Research Study abstracts

• Research abstracts should present clear information on study design, methods, and results, even if it is preliminary. Attention should be given to describing the impact of a change in the structure or function of a natural system(s) on a dimension (or dimensions) of human health or on the assessment of an intervention and its impact on advancing Planetary Health.  
• The research should be relevant to Planetary Health.
• Please supply a title which includes a study descriptor if appropriate (e.g., randomized), and lay out your abstract under the following headings:
  1. Background (including context and aim)
  2. Methods
  3. Findings
  4. Interpretation

 Guidelines for Education, Community, Art, or Policy Project abstracts

• Submissions should briefly describe the project/initiative concept and details, its target audience, the goals you hope to achieve, and the results obtained.  
• The project should be relevant to Planetary Health.
• Abstracts for projects that are entirely conceptual (i.e. have not yet begun and have no designated start date) or those advertising commercial products will not be accepted.

 Abstract Selection

• Lightning Talks: Abstracts receiving the highest scores will be selected for a live 5-10-minute lightning talk, each followed by a brief Q&A session.
• Publication in The Lancet Planetary Health: A limited number of the highest-scoring research abstracts will be published in the Planetary Health Annual Meeting Special Issue of The Lancet Planetary Health.
• Poster Pitches: Abstracts with the next highest scores will be invited to prepare poster presentations. These 3-4 minute “elevator pitches” are brief oral presentations designed to summarize the key points of a research poster (i.e. the main research question, key findings, and the significance of their work) and attract attendees to view the full poster at the conference.
• Poster Display: All other accepted abstracts will be selected for poster display. Authors will be required to submit a PDF file of their poster prior to PHAM2027 if their abstract is accepted.

Additional information on lightning talks and poster presentations will be provided to selected authors.

Abstract Submission

• All abstracts must be submitted through the online submission system. Submissions via e-mail, fax, or post will not be accepted. Please read the following instructions carefully before starting your abstract submission. 
• Abstracts should be in English, 250 words maximum, and contain no references, tables, or figures.
  *Please note that the system uses a character count rather than a word count. We kindly ask you to check the word count yourself before entering your text in the system.

How to submit your abstract

1. Please refer to the instructions below for submitting your abstract:
2. Please click the button below to submit your abstract:
Abstract Submission Deadline: September 14, 2026, 23:59 UTC
*Please note: you will not receive a confirmation email upon submission.
*You can make edits and modifications to your submission by September 14, 2026 (23:59 JST) from your "My Page".
*If you cannot receive a confirmation email, please click here to refer to the instructions.

Presenter Agreement

By submitting this abstract, I confirm that:

• All authors have approved the abstract and its submission. 
• The abstract adheres to the 250-word limit and contains no references, tables, or figures.
• I agree that my abstract can be published on the PHAM website, in an abstract booklet, and in the Lancet Planetary Health if my abstract is accepted.
• I understand that if accepted for a poster presentation, I will be required to submit a poster file (PDF) .
• I understand that if accepted for a lightning talk or a Poster Pitch then I will be required to make an oral presentation using presentation materials and present onsite at PHAM2027.

Young Presenter Award

When young professionals and practitioners submit an abstract as the first author and the abstract is one of the most highly scored, the first author will be awarded the Young Presenter Award (YPA). The winner's registration fee will be waived and will also be recognized at PHAM2027 with a certificate. However, no additional support will be provided for travel or accommodation expenses.

• Maximum number of awardees: 15
• Decisions on candidacy will be made upon confirmation of the applicants’ documents through individual communications.

Criteria

The candidate should satisfy one of the following criteria at the time of submission of the abstract.

• The first author is an undergraduate student.
• The first author is a graduate student.
• The first author is within five years of his/her graduation from an undergraduate program.
• The first author is within five years of his/her graduation from a master's course program.
• The first author is within five years of his/her graduation from a PhD course program.
• The first author is under the age of 30.

Application Process

Please upload the attached application form when you submit your abstract.