A special award was established in 1998 to honor the memory of Rell Kapolioka’ehukai Sunn, the “First Lady of Surfing.” Rell was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was just 32 and given only months to live. Rather than submitting to the disease and giving up on life, Rell did exactly the opposite, choosing to live life to its fullest. She lost her battle to cancer on January 2, 1998 at the age of 47. Rell came to the first few Cancer Center Luau and brought with her the aloha spirit.

Established in 1998 to honor the memory of Rell Sunn, the “Queen of Makaha,” this perpetual trophy is awarded each year to the people who have made a significant contribution in the fight against cancer. Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, and the Luau & Legend of Surfing Invitational – recognize those who have made a difference in the battle against cancer and embodies the aloha spirit.

The Rell Sunn Award is presented at the Luau. View past award recipients below and contact us to submit a nomination for next year's award.

JOHN C. REED, MD, PhD

As executive vice president, Pharmaceuticals, R&D and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) executive committee member, John’s mission is to focus the best research and development teams in the world at the intersection of unmet medical need and innovation to change the trajectory of human health. A biomedical research leader with a distinguished career across nonprofit, academia and industry, John encourages a culture that is fast-paced and open to reimagininghow life-saving medicines and vaccines are discovered, developed and delivered.  Employing multiple drug modalities, John’s team works across a wide range of therapeutic areas, including: oncology, cardiovascular, metabolic and retinal disease, pulmonary hypertension, immunology, neuroscience, and infectious disease and vaccines.

Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson in April 2023, John held executive leadership positions at Sanofi and Roche, serving on their respective executive committees. He served as CEO of Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (now Sanford Burnham Prebys) where he established multiple therapeutic area-aligned research centers and platform technology centers. John has authored more than 900 research publications and holds more than 130 patents. He was recognized among the top 10 most cited researchers in life sciences and medicine and still ranks among the world’s top 100 most highly cited scientists. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the recipient of many honors and awards.

An accomplished scientist and leader, John holds a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville and an MD and PhD (immunology) from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

2022 - Richard Heyman, PhD
2021 - Aviv Regev, PhD
2020 -John Hood, PhD and Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD
2019 - Tony Hunter, PhD and Brian Druker, MD
2018 - Howard Birndorf and Ivor Royston, MD
2017 - John Mendelsohn, MD*
2016 - T. Denny Sanford
2015 - Carl June, MD
2014 - Napoleone Ferrara
2013 - Kary Mullis*
2012 - Roger Tsien*
2011 -  Dennis A. Carson
2010 - Connie Matsui
2009 - David Easter, MD
2008 - Doris Howell, MD*
2007 - Linda Olson, MD
2006 - Georgia Robins-Sadler, MD
2005 - David Tarin, MD, PhD
2004 - Jon Greif, MD
2003 - Alex Szekely
2002 - J. Craig Venter, PhD
2001 - Mark Renneker, MD
2000 - Charles “Chuck” Gorder, Sr.*
1999 - Dani Grady
1998 - Bill Otterson*

* In remembrance of the awardees we’ve lost.