Yes, I used to work in the contracts unit at Sloan Kettering. I worked on Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs), Confidentiality Agreements (CDAs), Data Transfer Agreements (DTAs) Collaboration Agreements with Industry, Sponsored Research Agreements (SRAs), and Service Agreements. I currently work in the licensing group where we evaluate invention disclosures and work with outside counsel on filling patents.

I would definitely introduce yourself to someone in the legal department or Technology Transfer Officer because depending on the volume of contracts and workload it may take weeks to months for a contract to be fully executed. I agree with Dr. Simon that you should take the time get to know the legal department because if they know you and you send them a contract or need a contract to be put in place, they are more apt to prioritize it and to communicate with you on the status of the contract.

Some helpful contract hints: If you ever come up with an invention make sure you disclose the invention to your tech transfer office, because it is first to file now. If you make a public disclosure (conference, publication, seminars with external parties, etc) you lose out on foreign patent rights, but in the U.S. you have a one-year grace period to still file. If think you have a novel idea/invention be sure to loop in your tech transfer office so they can make sure they file a patent before you make a public disclosure. They can also make sure they put in place a confidentiality agreement before you discuss with an external party like a company that you may want to collaborate with. If you decide to move forward and collaborate with the company, make sure a formal agreement like a collaboration agreement is in place that has the terms of what happens if Intellectual Property (IP) arises out that collaboration.

NJIT Department of Intellectual Property and Patents is where you can disclose an invention and see NJIT’s Ip policy. https://www.njit.edu/research/department-intellectual-property-and-patents-0/

Contracts and Grants
https://www.njit.edu/research/researchers/