Professor Ashok R Shaha delivered his Semon Lecture on the 1st of November 2013. His lecture focuses on the importance of conservative surgery in treating tumours and how this allows for the sparing of nerves and the preservation of function. Shaha then goes on to emphasise that this change from radical to conservation surgery is taking place in many different cancers and that it will continue to change as technology improves.
Ashok Shaha was born in India, where he began his medical training before moving to America where he continues to work today. Throughout his training he received a number of awards, including the Honor Award from the American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery. Shaha has also published upwards of 585 scientific papers and has lectured internationally, making the fact that he has also been President of a number of societies, including the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons and the American Head and Neck Society, unsurprising.