Call for Symposium proposals
Submission is now open for proposals for symposia to be presented at the IUPHAR 20th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (WCP2026) to be held in Melbourne, Australia from 12–17 July 2026, hosted by the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists (ASCEPT). WCP2026 brings together the leading clinical and experimental pharmacologists, pharmacists, toxicologists and scientists worldwide.
ASCEPT and IUPHAR recognise the diversity of their global membership and are committed to the values, attitudes and conduct of equity, diversity and inclusion to create a collegial, collaborative and successful professional community. Please review the WCP2026 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) policy prior to composing your proposal to ensure it aligns with the policy for consideration in the evaluation and selection process.
The deadline for submitting proposals is 4 October 2024.
Session format
Each session will run for 120 minutes. Symposia should comprise three 30-minute presentations (including question time) and two 15-minute short talks (including question time). One or both short talks may be selected from abstracts submitted for oral presentations.
Session support and sponsorship
If your proposal is successful, the symposium applicant, chairperson and speakers will be required to register for the congress and are required to fund their own travel expenses. Up to four complimentary full registrations will be made available for invited symposia speakers – please indicate which individuals within your proposed speaker list require complimentary registration.
Individual symposium presenters will be required to submit their abstract via the online portal.
The deadline for abstract submission is 7 September 2025.
How will my symposium application be judged?
Proposals must include sufficient information to evaluate the quality of and potential interest in the session. Reviewers will rank applications in order from most to least appropriate based on the criteria below. Any conflicts of interest must be declared and the conflicted reviewer will abstain from ranking the symposia for which they have a conflict.
Content
Highly ranked proposals should:
- demonstrate sound scientific merit across the session
- include content that makes a contribution to knowledge
- demonstrate novelty and/or innovation, including new insights into old topics
- be of interest to the broad international pharmacology community.
Speakers
Highly ranked proposals should:
- include a balance of early- and mid-career speakers, as well as established and senior scientists/researchers
- ensure the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion are demonstrated in the composition of chairs/speakers.