The Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University is a community-based, Veterans Affairs affiliated medical school dedicated to providing high quality medical education and postgraduate training programs to foster a skilled physician workforce to meet the unique healthcare needs of West Virginia and Central Appalachia. Building upon its medical education foundation, the school seeks to develop centers of excellence in clinical care, including primary care in rural underserved areas, focused and responsive programs of biomedical science graduate study, biomedical and clinical science research, academic scholarship and public service outreach. The School is committed to fulfilling its mission by cultivating a dynamic and welcoming academic community sustained in a supportive environment that encourages lifelong learning.