Disease-based programs focus on a particular disease, such as Lung Cancer or Leukemia. To maximize innovation and research efficiency through inter-programmatic collaboration, two classes of programs were created: disease-based and scientific discipline-based.

DF/HCC emphasizes collaboration, called nodal points, between these two types of programs. These nodal points help investigators take results obtained from basic and population research and apply them to disease-related problems, and vice versa. DF/HCC believes that nodal points significantly enhance translational research.