This paper competition session at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting will showcase outstanding original research that develops or applies geospatial or GeoAI methods to address questions in health and healthcare.
The session will provide a forum for presenting innovative research, receiving constructive feedback, and fostering dialogue among medical and health geographers, GIScientists, and allied researchers. Finalists will be invited to submit their papers to the International Journal of Health Geographics (IJHG) for consideration through the journal’s standard peer review process.
We welcome participants at all career stages and especially encourage junior faculty, early-career researchers, postdoctoral scholars, doctoral candidates, and graduate students to participate. Selection and session format.
Selection & Session Format
To participate in the IJHG paper competition session, authors must:
- Submit an abstract to AAG Annual Meeting by October 22, 2026,
- Email the AAG-issued Submission ID to the session organizers to join the session (Subject: IJHG paper competition AAG2027); and
- Submit a complete, unpublished manuscript to the session organizers by January 15, 2027.
Abstracts already submitted to the AAG Annual Meeting may be used to enter the competition and developed into full papers by the manuscript deadline.
A review committee will select up to five finalists based on originality, methodological rigor, significance, and fit with the journal. Finalists and all participants will present in dedicated sessions, with one winner selected based on the manuscript and presentation.
Publication Opportunity & Proposed Awards
All finalists will be invited to submit their papers to IJHG for consideration. Subject to the publisher’s approval and acceptance through the journal’s standard editorial and peer review process. We propose:
- Winner: A certificate of recognition and, if the paper is accepted for publication following peer review, a full article processing charge (APC) waiver.
- Finalists: A 50% APC discount if their papers are accepted for publication following peer review.
As one of the world’s largest academic gatherings of geographers, the AAG Annual Meeting provides a major international forum for research exchange and collaboration. This initiative would strengthen the IJHG’s connections with the AAG community, increase its international visibility, and attract high-quality submissions.
Session Organizers
Co-Editors-in-Chief 2027, International Journal of Health Geographics: Lan Mu, muan@uga.edu and Fahui Wang, fhwang@hku.hk
