THE ECONOMIC LOSSES RESULTING FROM SWINE INFLUENZA RANK AMONG THE TOP THREE HEALTH CHALLENGES TO THE PORK INDUSTRY. THE ABILITY OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE INFLUENZA A VIRUS (IAV) VACCINES TO PROTECT PIGS AGAINST THIS VIRUS IS REDUCED DUE TO THE CONTINUOUS PROCESS OF ANTIGENIC VARIATION EXHIBITED BY INFLUENZA VIRUSES CIRCULATING IN COMMERCIAL PIG FARMS. THE AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE THE CAPABILITY OF CURRENT SWINE IAV VACCINES TO PROVIDE PROTECTION AGAINST A BROAD RANGE OF IAV VIRUSES. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY SUPPLEMENTING THE VACCINE WITH AN INVARIABLE VIRAL ANTIGEN SHARED BY ALL SUBTYPES OF IAV CURRENTLY CIRCULATING IN THE SWINE POPULATION, SPECIFICALLY THE MATRIX 2 (M2) PROTEIN. BECAUSE M2 IS SPARSELY PRESENT IN THE VIRUS, ORDINARY IAV VACCINES STIMULATE ONLY A MEAGER IMMUNE RESPONSE AGAINST THIS VIRAL PROTEIN. WE THEORIZE THAT BY SUPPLEMENTING CURRENT VACCINES WITH AN ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF M2, THE VACCINE WILL STIMULATE A STRONG IMMUNE RESPONSE TO THIS SHARED ANTIGEN. WE PREDICT THAT THE ADDITION OF M2 TO THE VACCINE WILL EXTEND THE RANGE OF PROTECTION PROVIDED BY A CONVENTIONAL VACCINE. SPECIFICALLY, IT WOULD PROTECT AGAINST THE IAV SUBTYPES INCLUDED IN THE VACCINE AND ALSO AGAINST ANTIGENIC VARIANTS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE ESCAPE VACCINE-INDUCED IMMUNITY. IMPROVING THE EFFICACY OF IAV VACCINES WILL RESULT IN IMPROVED SWINE HEALTH, HIGHER PROFITABILITY IN PORK PRODUCTION, AS WELL AS INCREASED FOOD SECURITY FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.