By Karen Krynen –

(Rosemead, California) – Senior Joshua Vargas returned to Don Bosco Technical Institute on August 11, 2025, with a new perspective. This summer, the senior, who plans to become a doctor, interned with the City of Hope and recently completed the opportunity with a final presentation to doctors, professors, medical students, and fellow researchers.

The primary focus of Joshua’s research was immunology and theranostics, a highly personalized approach to medicine—specifically in cancer treatment—that combines diagnostics and therapeutics. His research focused on the production of two antibody formats, within cells, for the imaging and treatment of prostate cancer.

Joshua is part of Bosco Tech’s Biological, Medical, and Environmental Technology. He tells us there are many things he learned during his time at the City of Hope, but the most fascinating was western blotting. This lab technique detects specific proteins in a sample by separating them based on size, enabling researchers to detect specific proteins within a sample.