Every year the Departments of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences of West Virginia University, The Ohio State University, Purdue University, Duquesne University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Toledo, State University of New York at Buffalo, and Wayne State University participate in the Mid-Atlantic Graduate Student Symposium in Medicinal Chemistry, also known as the "MAGSS" mini-meeting.

Traditionally, the symposium has been entirely organized and executed by graduate students from the hosting university. For 40 years these meetings have offered graduate students a forum to present their research to colleagues through poster and oral presentations. Through this meeting, students are provided an opportunity to develop presentation and communication skills in the format of a casual scientific meeting.

The MAGSS design itself fosters an environment conducive for both sharing of ideas and collaboration with colleagues in related fields from different universities. Prominent scientists are invited to deliver keynote addresses, giving the graduate students the chance to converse and network with top scientists in our field. We are also pleased to announce that for the second year, the MAGSS conference will host a career fair, allowing students to meet with representatives of prospective employers in the pharmaceutical industry.

The graduate students and faculty of West Virginia University would like to welcome all of this year's MAGSS participants and hope that you enjoy the research and the community that our symposium has to offer. We are happy to continue a tradition that helps to prepare graduate students for careers in medicinal chemistry and beyond.