April 30 - May 2, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada

SPPAC 2026 Theme Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition Call for Proposals Las Vegas, Nevada Registration Hotel

SPPAC 2026 Theme

SPPAC 2026: Inquire Inspire, Ignite

The Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference (SPPAC) will be held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 30-May 2, 2026. This year’s theme, “Inquire, Inspire, Ignite!” is a reflection of our professional values, an encouragement to push boundaries, and a call to action to increase the reach of pediatric psychology. We are interested in showcasing programming that closely aligns with our strategic pillars: science and practice, membership, education and career development, and advocacy.

INQUIRE: Ask challenging questions. We are never done learning. Engage with diverse scientific and clinical approaches, cutting-edge research, and courageous thought leaders in the field of pediatric psychology. Show up with curiosity and ask what we can be doing to promote the health of all children.

INSPIRE: Get excited about the future of our field. Connection and enthusiasm are essential to sustaining our collective spark. Whether you are a seasoned psychologist or just beginning to explore the field of pediatric psychology, YOU are welcome here! We will foster inclusion, belonging, collaboration, and creativity at SPPAC 2026.

IGNITE: Extend our reach. Innovation and action are key to strengthening our science. We push traditional boundaries, confront complex challenges, and increase our value by highlighting the unique contributions we make to the health of children and their communities.

Please join us as we create a space for learning, connection, and innovation!

Colleen Cullinan, PhD, SPPAC 2026 Conference Chair (colleen.cullinan@ucsf.edu)
Emily McTate, PhD, LP, ABPP, SPPAC 2026 Conference Co-Chair (mctate.emily@mayo.edu)

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition

SPPAC 2026 is all about promoting innovative scientific inquiry, sharing inspiring research findings, and igniting sparks of interest about the field of pediatric psychology. Consistent with this theme (Inquire, Inspire, Ignite!), we are eager to bring the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) to SPPAC 2026 Las Vegas! The 3MT® is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia that cultivates participants’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. We are honored to bring this prestigious competition to our Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference meeting.

About:
Competitors will submit one PowerPoint slide and a 3-minute video presentation of their project for the Preliminary Video Round of the 3MT® competition. Presentations should effectively communicate the benefits and significance of the research product to the public, potential funders, lawmakers, and the pediatric psychology community (including patients and families). The top three submissions within each competition category will be invited to present at the Live 3MT® competition during SPPAC 2026. A First-Place winner will be awarded within each competition category (see Eligibility Criteria). An overall People’s Choice award, voted on by the session audience, will also be conferred.

Eligibility Criteria:
3MT® competitions are intended for scholars who are ready to present their capstone, thesis, dissertation, or research product, rather than for works-in-progress.

To be eligible to submit an application for SPP’s 3MT®, you must meet the following criteria:

- You are a(n):

Predoctoral Scholar (graduate student; predoctoral intern/resident)
Postdoctoral Scholar (fellow, post-doctorate, non-faculty/staff)
Early Career Scholar (no longer in training, up to 10 years post-doctoral degree)

- You have a complete version of your final project (e.g. capstone, thesis, dissertation, paper), including findings and conclusions.

- Only one member of a 3MT® project team may submit an application. If the submission is selected, the participant who submitted must be the presenter.

Prizes:
Four prizes, sponsored by The Society of Pediatric Psychology, will be awarded. An esteemed panel of judges will select First-Place awardees in each competition category (Predoctoral Scholar, Postdoctoral Scholar, Early Career Scholar), and the 3MT® live audience will vote for a People’s Choice Award.

Timeline:

Applications are due for preliminary video round: January 13, 2026 at 11:59pm EST
Video Preliminary Round Notification: January 28, 2026 (On this day, successful presenters will be notified of selection as finalists for competition day)
SPPAC 3MT® Competition (in-person): May 1, 2026 from 10:30am to 11:45am (Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada)

Call for Proposals

The submission period has ended. The Call for Late Breaking Poster Abstracts will open in January 2026.

We are asking for the following submission formats. All proposals will be peer-reviewed.

- Workshop Submissions

- Oral Submissions:

Scientific Symposia
Strategic Skill-Building Session
Critical Conversation Panel

- Abstract Submissions:

Poster Abstract
Paper Abstract

All submitters/authors are expected to understand and agree to the SPPAC 2026 Rules for Submissions. If accepted, all presenters and moderators must register and pay for the conference.

If you are having any issues viewing any of the above documents, please email info@pedpsych.org.

Demystifying the SPPAC Submission Process:

The Society of Pediatric Psychology is excited to support you in preparing submissions for our upcoming annual conference! We recognize that the proposal process can sometimes feel overwhelming—especially for those submitting for the first time—so we have developed a set of resources to help demystify the process and encourage folks to submit.

Example submissions offer guidance and are not to be considered strict templates for submissions. There is no single “right way” to describe your work and compile a successful proposal. Topic areas covered in these examples represent areas of interest for pediatric psychologists and are still welcomed as areas of interest for submissions.
SPPAC Submission FAQs
The Mentorship Program is sponsoring a brief opportunity to coach or to receive feedback on SPPAC 2026 abstracts prior to submission. If you are interested in participating, please complete this brief survey.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Registration

Registration for SPPAC 2026 opens on December 15, 2025!

You must have a 2026 membership to receive the member rate.

The link to the room block is only available to registrants for SPPAC 2026.

SPPAC 2026 Conference Registration Rates

	Early Registration December 15, 2025 - March 4, 2026 11:59pm PT	Regular Registration March 5 – May 2, 2026, 11:59pm PT
Full Member	$495	$595
Student Member	$220	$320
Retired Member	$220	$320
Non-Member	$720	$820
Student Non-Member	$345	$445

Conference Workshops

NEW THIS YEAR! Conference Workshops will be held from 12:00-2:30pm on Thursday, April 30 and Friday, May 1 (2 hours of content will be presented). All Workshop registrations include a boxed lunch. Each registrant will need to pick one of the lunch options listed below. If you have a dietary restriction that does not fit within one of the lunch options, please contact info@pedpsych.org

Lunch Options

Plaza Sandwich– Gluten-free bread, English cucumber, shaved red onion, vine ripe tomatoes, arugula, roasted vegan mayo, with a side salad, fruit, potato chips and a cookie. (Gluten Free and Vegan)
Academy Sandwich – Prime roast beef, shaved red onions, baby gem lettuce, smoked cheddar cheese, whole grain mustard and mayo on a pretzel roll, with a side salad, fruit, potato chips and a cookie.
Palace Salad – Herb roasted chicken, baby iceberg, baby romaine, arugula, grape tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, Marcona almonds, honey mustard dressing, with a baked roll, fruit, potato chips, and a cookie (Gluten Free, Diary Free, contains nuts)

Cancellation Policy Within 48 hours, cancelations will be fully refunded, after the 48 hours, registrants will be subject to a 5% processing fee. No refunds will be processed after March 4, 2026, 11:59pm PT.

Participants are expected to attend the specific workshop(s) for which they register.

	1 Workshop	2 Workshops
Full Member	$175	$300
Student Member	$125	$225
Retired Member	$125	$225
Non-Member	$250	$400
Student Non-Member	$150	$275

Hotel

Caesars Palace

3570 S Las Vegas Blvd, Paradise, NV 89109

SPP has contracted a block of rooms for meeting attendees at a discounted rate. The total per night cost of a standard single or double occupancy guestroom at Caesars Palace is $243.71. This includes the base guestroom rate of $179.00, a daily resort fee of $35.95, hotel room tax (13.38%) of $23.95, and resort fee tax of $4.82. Each additional person will be charged a rate of $10 per person, per night with a maximum of four (4) persons per guestroom.

Hotel reservations should be made directly with the hotel.

Registrants will receive the link to reserve their room after registering. If you did not receive the link, please contact info@pedpsych.org with your registration confirmation. The hotel link will only be available to registered attendees.

Cutoff Date for Group Reservations: Monday, April 6, 2026. After this date, the discounted rate will no longer be available.