After nearly five months of manuscript collection, peer review, editing and proofreading, the special issue Primate and Animal Models of Human Diseases, ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2011, 32(1), has finally arrived. Proposed and organized by the Principal Investigators of the Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, in cooperation with researchers from the Kunming Medical University, the Institute of Medical Biology, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical College, the Kunming University of Science and Technology, the Guangxi Cancer Prevention Institute and the Guangdong Institute of Entomology, we present the latest research on primate and human disease models.

This special issue includes one review as a preface, nine research articles, one research report and six reviews. The research spans the fields of fundamental molecular biology, molecular biology/genetics, biochemistry, neurobiology, hematology, physiology, epidemiology and immunology and primarily uses primates (rhesus monkeys, macaque monkeys, crab-eating monkeys, wild and domesticated tree shrews, etc.) as animal models. We summarize the successful experience on the Chinese tree shrew as laboratory animals, which will surely inspire future research. The seven reviews in this issue fully analyze and illustrate fundamental concepts and developing problems in this field: research on non-human primate tumors, diabetes, and Hepatitis B and C animal models and their effects on mental illness were comprehensively examined.

In accordance with the "12th Five-Year Plan" and the Chinese Academy of Science’s “Innovation 2020” Program, Kunming Institute of Zoology is focusing on solving fundamental, strategic and forward-looking scientific problems related to China's national, overall and long-term development. Our priority is to lead technical innovation, promote the development of China's high and new technology industries in scientific frontiers and improve our health livelihood and environment. We begin this first year of the “12th Five-Year Plan” very promisingly by reflecting upon our collective progress in this much-anticipated special issue.