The aims of this research seminar were to bring together a group of established and young scientists from different areas of research (basic and clinical; pulmonology, microbiology, cystic fibrosis (CF), cell biology, immunology, infectious disease, etc.) related to the study of respiratory infections and their role in inflammatory lung diseases and CF. The aim was to cover a wide range of areas, including new developments in the characterisation of respiratory pathogens, host defence, COPD, CF, and asthma research and drug development. A special focus was on translational approaches to encourage interactions of basic and clinical disciplines.