FGED Society - History

History

The FGED Society was formed in 1999 at a meeting on Microarray Gene Expression Databases in recognition of the need to establish standards for sharing and storing data from DNA microarray experiments. Originally named the "MGED Society," the society began with a focus on DNA microarrays and gene expression data.

The original MGED Society was incorporated in 2002 as a non-profit public benefit organization with the title Microarray Gene Expression Data Society and obtained permanent charity status in 2007. The MGED name was legally changed in 2007 to Microarray and Gene Expression Data Society to emphasize a broader scope.

In September 2008, the Society decided to promote itself simply as the MGED Society to broaden the Society's scope beyond microarray technology and gene expression applications, yet still retain the recognized value of the MGED name within the community.

In July 2010, the society voted to change its name to the "Functional Genomics Data (FGED) Society" to reflect its current mission which goes beyond microarrays and gene expression to encompass data generated using any functional genomics technology applied to genomic-scale studies of gene expression, binding, modification (such as DNA methylation), and other related applications. This was formally announced on 14 July 2010 at the society's "MGED13" annual meeting.