The head and neck surgeon as clinician-investigator: opportunities and imperatives. The Hayes Martin Lecture.

I am honored to have been asked to present this memorial lecture in memory of Hayes Martin, MD, who is considered the father of contemporary head and neck surgery. Dr Martin was born in 1892 and died in 1977. As the chief of the head and neck surgery service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, Dr Martin made many outstanding observations and contributions that were fundamental to the surgical management of head and neck cancer. These include the role of fine-needle aspiration biopsy for the diagnosis of solid tumors of the head and neck, management of the unknown primary, and the appropriate surgery for cervical metastasis. Dr Martin’s concepts were empirical and based on his keen observational skills and experience. He was indeed a clinician-investigator.