Dr. Motea has two broad areas of research interest. The first area focuses on understanding the mechanistic basis for the pathophysiological role of persistent RNA:DNA hybrid structures (also known as R-loops) as a source of DNA damage and genomic instability focusing on the novel functional roles of transcription termination factors in DNA repair. His second area of interest is in developing novel chemical agents and innovative strategies based on mechanistic studies to potentiate the tumor-selective effects of NQO1-bioactivatable drugs focusing on understanding the mechanism of action/synergy to enhance tumor lethality while sparing normal tissues. His research incorporates interdisciplinary approaches to biological questions ranging from synthetic/medicinal chemistry to cancer biology and therapeutics.
Specifically, my research will focus on (1) discovering and characterizing novel factors in DNA damage and repair; (2) understanding the unannotated role of co-transcriptional DNA:RNA hybrids or R-loops in genomic instability; (3) designing and developing novel anti-cancer agents that are tumor-selective; and (4) elucidating the mechanistic basis for the replication bypass of damaged DNA by DNA polymerases.
