As an ISCRM Undergraduate Fellow, Anika Ghelani will investigate the biomechanical role of the chaperone protein melusin in humans using engineered heart tissues (EHTs) created from wild-type hiPSC-CMs and hiPSC-CMs that lack melusin and their isogenic controls. By examining and measuring contractile force and observing the structure of these tissues for signs of dilation or thinning of the tissue, Ghelani aims to determine whether the presence of melusin produces a protective response in EHTs.