The Infection Biology Unit of the German Primate Center and the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine develop new therapies against asthma and influenza. For this, they have founded a joint research group. Research of this group depends on use of non-human primates (NHP), since NHP mirror human anatomy, physiology and immunology better than rodents. A central goal of the research is to develop ell culture models based on precision-cut lung slices (PCLS) that model important aspects of pathogenesis and allow testing strategies for intervention. In parallel, the group seeks to establish translational NHP models, which can be employed for preclinical testing of human-specific bio-pharmaceuticals for therapy of asthma and influenza.