Cooperative Research

Cooperative Research is part of the Office for Technology Development and acts as the liaison between contracting agencies and the scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.  They negotiate documents that provide the basis for the important exchange of information between commercial entities and academic institutions as in commercially Sponsored Research, Collaboration, and Confidential Disclosure Agreements

How to Request a Material Transfer Agreement and the MTA Process
When a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is required, the Principal Investigator (PI) or lab personnel can go to the iAIM link:

 https://sws001.swmed.edu/cprh/ListScreens

• Under the heading, Public Forms, choose the link based on whether UT Southwestern's lab is receiving material or providing material to another institution.  Note: Please click the links denoted as “New”.
• The information is entered and “new” is chosen to create a new form.
• The request is “submitted” for PI approval, or if the PI is filling out the form, they may “approve” immediately.
• Once the form is submitted, the PI receives an email notice containing a link to the iAIM form created.  The PI needs to follow this link and “approve” the form.
• As an alternative, the PI may delegate someone to approve these forms for them. If this is desired whether permanently or temporarily, please have the PI send an email to CooperativeResearch@UTSouthwestern.edu indicating who the delegate approver is.  This delegate will not receive the email link noted above, but will see these forms on their iAIM home page as pending approval.
• The approved MTA form is received by Cooperative Research.
• The MTA form is accepted and assigned to a Contract Specialist for processing.
• A contract number is assigned to the MTA form.
• A draft is negotiated by the parties.
• Upon mutual agreement of the document, the contract is submitted for the required signatures.
• When fully executed, a copy of the MTA is distributed to all parties and the PI, and the material can be shipped.

How to Request Confidential Disclosure Agreements
To request a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA), the PI fills out a CDA Request Form and returns it via email to Cooperative Research.  The particulars of the meeting, the planned discussion, and the expected outcome are required in this form.  From that, the agreement is negotiated to provide a confidential discussion between UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas faculty and employees and potential research partners.

How to Request Collaboration or Sponsored Research Agreements
For both the Collaboration and the Sponsored Research (SRA) agreements, the PI contacts Cooperative Research and provides the Contract Specialist with a research proposal and budget inclusive of the current commercial indirect cost.  This information is reviewed by our office and a draft is created and sent to the company for review/approval.