Rell Sunn Award
The Rell Sunn Award was established in 1998 to honor the memory of Rell Sunn. This perpetual trophy is awarded each year to the people who have made a significant contribution in the fight against cancer.
View past award recipients below and contact us to submit a nomination for next year's award.
2025 Recipient: Laura Shawver, Ph.D
Laura Shawver, Ph.D. is a scientist and biotech executive with more than 25 years of experience in Life Sciences including as CEO of private and public companies since 2002. Most recently, she was CEO of Capstan Therapeutics (acquired by AbbVie in 2025) focused on in vivo engineering of cells through targeted lipid nanoparticles with an initial focus on developing therapies for autoimmune disease by reprogramming T cells in vivo to deplete pathogenic B cells. She is currently Board Chair for Adcendo ApS, Director of ARS Pharmaceuticals and Director of Dove Tail Therapeutics. Previously, Laura served as CEO of Silverback Therapeutics (acquired by ARS Pharma), President and CEO of Synthorx (acquired by Sanofi), CEO of Cleave Therapeutics, CEO of Phenomix and President of SUGEN.
Laura is a passionate patient advocate and founded the non-profit, Clearity Foundation in 2008 (merged with OCRA in 2025) after her own diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer in 2007 to help other women access molecular diagnostic tests to help better understand treatment options. She currently serves on the OCRA Board, the Board of Advisors for Life Science Cares San Diego and on the Scientific Advisory Committee for Stand Up To Cancer. Laura has received many accolades throughout her career including 2025 Fierce Pharma Leadership Honoree, 2024 San Diego Business Journal Most Influential People and UCSD Moore’s Cancer Center Duane Roth Achievement award, 2020 Endpoints Women in Biopharma, 2018 San Diego Girl Scouts Cool Women, 2012 PharmaVOICE 100 and FierceBiotech’s 2011 Women in Biotech. In 2011, she was honored as the University of Iowa’s Distinguished Alumni for her professional achievements, service and influence in the world of science and medicine. She received her Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Iowa.
Past Awardees
2024 - Bill Rastatter, PhD2023 - John C Reed, MD, PhD
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.