DNA damage by agents (e.g., carcinogens) in the environment poses a constant threat to the survival of all organisms. In order to maintain the integrity of their genetic material, cells respond to such damage by activating a large repertory of enzymes that repair DNA. My research focuses on damage-inducible DNA repair in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. In this organism the genes coding for DNA repair enzymes are repressed in the absence of DNA damage and activated when cellular DNA is damaged. We have isolated and characterized many of the molecular components (i.e. regulatory proteins and DNA binding sites) of this induction pathway and we are characterizing the mechanistic details of this regulation.