SPPAC 2026: Inquire Inspire, Ignite

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.  Each of the four awardees will receive $250 from The Society of Pediatric Psychology after SPPAC has concluded.

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)

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT^®) is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia.

The Call for Late Breaking Poster Abstracts is now open until Monday, February 2, 2026 at 11:59pm ET. 

Please review the Late Breaking Poster Abstract Requirements below and Rules for Submissions before submitting. All proposals will be peer-reviewed.

Late Breaking Poster Abstract Requirements:

Submissions for late breaking poster abstracts must not exceed 300 words (not including authors, affiliations, and title). Please list author affiliation based on where the work was completed. Tables and figures are not permitted within the abstract submission. Authors are limited to one first-authored abstract submission. All poster submissions must have data at the time of submission. Authors must attest that abstract data are novel and are not currently submitted nor under review or published in any other medium that will be published or presented before SPPAC 2026. Please note, that late breaking acceptances will not be published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology Poster Abstract Supplement, but will be presented as a poster at SPPAC 2026.

All abstract submissions must include the following:

• Introduction (background, objective).
• Methods (sample, procedures, measures, analysis).
• Results (primary findings).
• Conclusions (implications).

Poster abstracts will be reviewed based on the following six categories:

• Significance: Importance and contribution to pediatric psychology.
• Approach: Quality of the research methods.
• Summary score: Overall quality of the proposal.
• Alignment with the conference theme.
• Equity, diversity, and inclusion considerations.
• Incorporation of patient and family voices.

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 the above document, 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. 

1. 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.
   1. Workshop Example
   2. Scientific Symposium Example
   3. Strategic Skill-Building Session Example #1
   4. Strategic Skill-Building Session Example #2
   5. Critical Conversations Panel Example #1
   6. Critical Conversations Panel Example #2
2. SPPAC Submission FAQs
3. 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.

The conference will take place at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA!

Caesar's Palace:
3570 S Las Vegas Blvd, Paradise, NV 89109

More information on activities and restaurants in Las Vegas to come!

Registration for SPPAC 2026 is open!

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

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.

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.

Why Book in the Official Conference Block?

Booking within the official hotel block helps us meet our room commitment and reduces overall event costs to SPP. This helps us keep SPPAC registration fees as low as possible and ensure a high-quality event experience for everyone!

The Society of Pediatric Psychology (Division 54 of the American Psychological Association) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Society of Pediatric Psychology maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

* Sessions with Ethics CE are general and may not meet the criteria for specific states.

The Society of Pediatric Psychology (Division 54 of the American Psychological Association) is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0279.

* Sessions with Ethics CE may not meet the criteria for Ethics CE for New York State Licensed Psychologists. New York State licensees are responsible for complying with New York State laws, rules, and regulations: https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/psychology/laws-rules-regulations  

Felicity Enders, PhD, MPH

Dr. Felicity Enders is a Professor of Biostatistics and Professor of Clinical and Translational Science at Mayo Clinic. She is a consulting statistician with 190+ publications, an H-index of 65+, I-100 of 45, and >20,000 total citations.

Dr. Enders is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Associate Director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science, the Deputy Director for Belonging in the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Director and lead statistician for the Center for Chronic Disease Reduction and Equity Promotion Across Minnesota (C2DREAM).

Dr. Enders is highly regarded nationally for her paradigm-shifting leadership on the science of science in three areas:

• Hidden curriculum for research (https://tinyurl.com/Enders-HC)
• Health outcome and population engineering (HOPE, https://tinyurl.com/Enders-HOPE)
• Population conscious analysis (PCA, publication forthcoming).

Dr. Enders currently serves as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Encoding Equity Alliance through the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, an elected fellow in the American Statistical Association, and President-Elect for the Association for Clinical and Translational Science.

Community Engagement Panel

This Community Engagement Panel will highlight why authentic collaboration with those with lived experience matters and then explore the multitude of ways pediatric psychologists can partner with community members to transform practice, enhance research, and create lasting impact in the communities they serve. Hear from both pediatric psychologists and community partners about how to get started, different models of engagement, the impact of partnership, and addressing common misconceptions about collaboration. View community engagement panelist bios here.

Yalda T. Uhls, PhD, MBA

Dr. Yalda T. Uhls is a developmental psychologist and the founder and CEO of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS) at UCLA, a research organization dedicated to bridging developmental science with entertainment media. Before founding CSS, she spent more than 15 years as a senior film executive at MGM and Sony Pictures, bringing real-world storytelling and business experience into her research on youth development and wellbeing. At CSS, Dr. Uhls partners with major media companies—including YouTube, Netflix, Disney, and Activision—to integrate developmental science into creative decisions. Her work helps storytellers understand how children and adolescents interpret narratives, form identity, and respond to representation, making media not just entertaining but supportive of healthy development and inclusion.

As a researcher and faculty member in UCLA’s Department of Psychology, Dr. Uhls studies how media and technology influence the social, emotional, and cognitive development of preteens and teens. She is the author of Media Moms & Digital Dads. Her research has been featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine, Good Morning America, USA Today, NPR, and numerous other outlets across 32 countries, as well as in multiple peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Uhls frequently speaks at research, public health, and creative-industry forums, and advocates for authentically inclusive storytelling and cross-sector collaboration to build healthier developmental ecosystems for youth.

In preparation for SPPAC 2026, we would like to share answers to some frequently asked questions. If there are other questions that we haven’t covered here, please email info@pedpsych.org.

 IS THERE A VIRTUAL OR HYBRID OPTION FOR SPPAC 2026?

All conference programming will be held in-person in Las Vegas April 30-May 2. We will not video record presentations at the live conference. We also will not provide a live simulcast during the conference. Special interest groups (SIGs) and affinity may host their meetings in-person and virtually (limited space available for in-person meetings).

WILL I BE PENALIZED IF I SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT AND LATER WITHDRAW MY SUBMISSION?

No. We want submitters to feel comfortable submitting their science. If an oral submission is withdrawn, we welcome you to re-submit for the 2027 meeting.

WHAT IS REQUIRED WITHIN THE REGISTRATION FORM?

The Registration Type, Workshop Selection, Emergency Contact Information, Dietary Needs, and Special Accommodation Requests are required in the registration form. All other questions, including session selections are for space planning purposes and are optional.

 WHAT IS THE CANCELATION POLICY?

All cancelations within 48 hours of registering will be fully refunded. All other cancellations will be subject to a 5% processing fee. All refunds will be processed after the conference. SPP also encourages all attendees to book refundable or changeable travel if possible.

HOW DOES THIS CONFERENCE SUPPORT WORKING PARENTS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BREASTFEEDING?

Childcare options will not be available during SPPAC, however, individuals who are breastfeeding are welcome to use a private nursing room near the conference area, if needed. The location of this room will be provided in the conference program.

CAN I RECEIVE FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO ATTEND SPPAC 2026?

Please review SPP's award opportunities.

Complimentary registrations to SPPAC are available for:

• Plenary Speakers
• Select Conference Planning Committee Members: Conference Chair, Conference Co-Chair, MAL CE, and Student Representative
• Journal Staff: JPP Editorial Assistant, JPP Publisher Representative, CPPP Editorial Assistant, CPPP Publisher Representative
• Conference Sponsors: one at levels at $3,000 or higher
• Non-Psychologist Speakers: (e.g. physician non-members, family/patient advocates)

Discounted registrations to SPPAC are available for:

• First-time SPPAC attendees, who are members of SPP, who identify as belonging to marginalized group(s) (g., race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, immigration status, country of origin, disability, first generation scholar) are eligible for a 10% discount on registration fees. Attendees do not need to disclose which marginalized group they belong to. This code will be provided to the applicable individuals during the online registration process. If you have any questions, please reach out to info@pedpsych.org.

 HOW DO I BOOK MY HOTEL ROOM?

After you register you will receive an email with a link to book your hotel room at Caesar's Palace.

Below is a general program outline for SPPAC 2026's stucture to assist with travel arrangements. More information about the timing of events will be released closer to the conference.

Thursday, April 30

• Workshop Session I: 12:00-2:30pm
• Welcome Session begins at 3:00pm
• First Plenary Presentation at 3:45pm
• Sessioning will continue until 8:30pm

Friday, May 1

• Poster session begins at 8:00am
• Plenary Presentation begins at 9:15am
• Workshop Session II: 12:00-2:30pm
• Sessioning will continue until 6:30pm

Saturday, May 2

• Poster session begins at 8:00am
• Plenary Presentation begins at 12:15pm
• Meeting concludes at 1:30pm