ICoNS’25 Workshop Submission Guidelines

ICoNS is accepting proposals for 90-minute scientific sessions and workshops to be held at the 2025 meeting of the International Consortium on Newborn Sequencing in London, UK on October 23-24, 2025. Please read submission instructions carefully before submitting. 

All proposals must be submitted by 11:59 PM EST Wednesday, May 14th, 2025.

Submitter Instructions:

Elements of a successful session proposal include:

  • Overall Quality of the Proposal: The proposal itself is thorough, clear, and provides enough insight into the proposed session.

  • Submitter: The submitter (preferably the session moderator) is deeply versed in the topic and well connected with other authorities in the field. The submitter has contacted all proposed presenters and has:

    • Their consent and agreement to participate after having fully reviewed the proposal 

    • Confirmed that they are willing to travel to London 

    • Asked presenters to hold the dates for both Oct 23 and Oct 24 as the ICoNS’25 Organizing committee arranges the date and time of each session. 

  • Moderators/Presenters: The proposed moderator is an ICoNS Member and is widely recognized as a leading authority. The proposed faculty are experienced presenters. 

    • Each session requires one ICoNS member as moderator, and at least one additional presenter must also be an ICoNS member. 

    • Support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by including presenters from varied backgrounds: institutions, regions, genders, ethnicities, and generations.

  • Content: 

    • The topic is practical - meaning there will be knowledge, skills, or information that can be applied right away. 

    • The topic will have an impact directly on improving gNBS research. This is a hot topic, innovative or fresh perspective, or widely applicable skill/knowledge. 

    • If not, explain why there will still be significant interest in the session.

  • Rationale for proposal: The rationale for proposing any action is rooted in identifying a need or gap, which signifies a disparity between current and desired states. 

    • A need arises from deficiencies in knowledge, competence, or performance. Provide two sources to substantiate this need. 

    • Conversely, a gap delineates the disparity between actual and ideal levels of knowledge, competency, performance, or patient outcomes across various professional practices.


Proposals must be submitted through the submission portal by 11:59 PM EST Wednesday, May 14th, 2025, and should contain the following: 

  1. Submitter Information – Preferably submitter is Moderator. The Moderator is responsible for all further contact with presenters. 

  2. Proposal Title (maximum of 100 characters or less)

  3. Description (up to 3000 characters, including spaces) 

  4. Rationale for Proposal (up to 1000 characters, including spaces)

    1. Practice Gap (i.e., the difference between actual and ideal performance and/or patient outcomes and how this gap was identified)

    2. Competence (The ability to apply knowledge, skills, and judgment in practice [knowing how to do something])

    3. Performance (what one does, in practice. The degree to which participants do what the activity intended them to do [Purpose of Activity]. Performance is competence put into practice.) 

    4. Patient Outcomes (the consequences of performance and are defined as the ability of the learner to apply what they have learned to improve the health status of their patients or those of a community.) 

  5. Session Type: (maximum of 5 presenters)

    1. Scientific Session: 90 minutes

      1. Focused on a specific scientific or clinically relevant topic or area as well as trends.

      2. Highlights a wide range of topics of interest to genetics practitioners, laboratorians, researchers, genetic counselors, and others with an interest in the science and implementation of gNBS. 

    2. Workshop: 90-minutes

      1. Workshops are where the attendees will take part in the activity, as opposed to sessions where learners are passively listening to presentations. 

  6. Proposal Format:

    1. Short Presentations with Panel Discussion

    2. Debate/Point-Counterpoint

    3. Design Thinking/Hackathons Session – Problem-solving session by small groups

    4. Other ideas are welcome

  7. Topic Focus:

    1. Research Methods and Resources

    2. Health Services and Implementation

    3. Health Care Inequities and Health Disparities

    4. ELSI, Public Health and Policy

    5. gNBS Laboratory Genetics and Genomics

    6. gNBS Health Economics

Proposal Acceptance:

Selection of topics and presenters for all sessions is at the discretion of the Program Committee. The Program Committee reviews all submitted proposals and may: 

  • Accept the proposal as written.

  • Modify the proposal.

  • Not offer the proposed session. 

Submission of a proposal does not guarantee acceptance in whole or in part. In an effort to develop the best program possible, Program Committee members may ask submitters to amend their proposal. Please be prepared to have this discussion. This is to minimize repetition and best address the needs of the attendees. The ICoNS will communicate any requested changes to the session proposal to the submitters/moderators in May/June 2025 prior to acceptance decision notification. 


Proposal Selection Criteria: 

Proposals are evaluated by the ICoNS’25 Organizing Committee and will be selected based on the following criteria: 

  • The proposed moderator is an ICoNS Member and atleast one additional panelist/speaker is also an ICoNS Member.

  • Provides current information related to the rapidly evolving field of gNBS

  • Includes a topic of relative importance, originality, focus and timeliness, with expertise by the proposed panelists, and the potential for informative discussions. 

  • Free of economic bias

The review process is strictly confidential. To ensure a balanced program, the Organizing Committee reserves the exclusive right to decline a presentation that lacks scientific content or merit, or merely announces the availability of a resource or service. The Organizing Committee also reserves the right to solicit presentations in addition to those submitted and may contact proposal submitters to discuss the topic, suggested Presenters and/or make recommendations to modify the proposal to develop a comprehensive and topical overall program.