WNAR Student Paper Competition

What is it?

WNAR holds a student paper competition each year in conjunction with its annual conference. We award prizes for best papers in written and oral categories. Winners of the  Outstanding Paper Award  (one each in written and oral categories, possibly two in case of a tie) receive $500, which will be given as payable by checks at the banquet. This award is confined to students in the WNAR region only.

All students receive free conference registration.  Entrants from outside the WNAR region can enter the competition.   

Who is eligible?

Papers may be submitted to the student paper competition by current students and recent graduates (graduation date not earlier than May 1 of the conference year) of undergraduate and graduate programs in biostatistics, statistics, or other applied mathematical fields having a biometric focus. Before submitting a paper, a student must register for the WNAR Meeting. Attendance at the conference is also required. Students must enter both the oral and written competitions. 

All submitted papers must have been initiated while a student, where the bulk of the effort leading to the paper was put forth. 

To enter the student paper competition, a student must: 

• Be a current WNAR member AND 
  
• Register for the conference AND 
  
• Submit an abstract AND 
  
• Submit a manuscript AND 
  
• Give an oral presentation at the conference, during a student paper session. 
  
• Students from outside the WNAR region must be a member of their IBS region and join WNAR as a supporting member (WNAR membership is free for students). 

Students having previously won a WNAR student paper competition award are excluded from subsequent competitions. Students who wish to present a paper but do not wish to enter the competition may submit a contributed paper to the conference. 

What are the guidelines for manuscripts?

Manuscripts should be double-spaced, in manuscript format, using Biometrics guidelines for authors. They are limited to 10 pages including tables and figures, but exclusive of references. One-inch margins and at least 10-point font must be used. Reported research should be relevant to biometrics applications.   An appendix is allowed; however, it may contain only non-essential information (e.g., proofs) and your paper must be complete without the appendix.  The reported work must be that of the student, although collaborators may be co-authors, provided that the student is the first author. 

Students should submit a blinded version of their paper, with author and institution information removed from the document. 

What are the deadlines for entering?

February 15th – Abstract submission deadline

April 7th – Paper submission deadline 

June 9-12, 2024, Fort Collins, Colorado – Oral presentations as part of the WNAR meeting

Abstract Submission Guidelines 

 

Abstracts should be submitted via the google form (link TBD) and the paper should be sent to the Student Paper Competition Committee Chair TBD. The abstract should follow the guidelines below: 

• Information for the corresponding author (i.e., the student information), which includes first and last name, email, affiliation, and current degree program. 
• Title of the abstract 
• Authors and Affiliations 
• Abstract body (maximum of 1200 characters) 

Review Criteria

Review criteria for both the written and oral competitions can be found here.