It coordinated the formation of the International Mouse Mutagenesis Consortium, an effort to assign a function to every gene in the mammalian genome,[2][3] oversaw activities of chromosome committees and advised on biological database developments.

[5] From 2009 the graduate student or post-doctoral fellow who wins the Verne Chapman Young Scientist Award at the annual meeting also joins the secretariat for the following two years.

The IMGS has an official peer reviewed journal, Mammalian Genome, which was launched with the society in 1991 but published and managed by Springer.

[5] The IMGS holds an annual meeting, the International Mouse Genome Conference (IMGC), that is attended by scientists from around the world.

The annual seminar was named in honor of Verne M. Chapman, a former director of scientific affairs at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and a founding member of the society.

Mary Lyon began her career at a time when very few women became scientists, and the award recognizesearly- and mid-stage independent female researchers.