2. Separate and Distinct – Conflict of Commitment Guidance

1. The goals of the OPA should not overlap with, or be substantially similar to, the objectives of you or your lab’s ongoing MIT research projects to ensure clear separation of purpose. For example, if your MIT research is centered on a specific drug delivery pathway, the OPA should explore entirely different pathways or areas of research.
2. Adequate differentiation ensures that any intellectual property disclosed to MIT does not share similarities or dependencies with intellectual property created through an OPA, and vice versa.
3. Provide sufficient technical details about the deliverables of your OPA in the consulting questionnaire. This will enable your DLCI head and other relevant offices to help you make an objective and well-informed decision regarding the level of separation from your MIT Institutional Responsibilities.

^{Updated August 2025}