Discipline-based programs focus on a particular scientific discipline, such Cancer and Gene Expression or Outcomes Research. To maximize innovation and research efficiency through inter-programmatic collaboration, two classes of programs were created: discipline-based and clinical-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.