Doctor quits Brigham to speak for pay – Partners has strict rules on drug-firm honoraria
By Liz Kowalczyk – Globe Staff / January 23, 2010

Boston physician Lawrence M. DuBuske was given a choice: Either stop moonlighting as a paid speaker for pharmaceutical companies or quit his job at a top Harvard teaching hospital.

To the surprise of some, DuBuske, an allergy and asthma specialist and a Harvard Medical School instructor, will resign from Brigham and Women’s Hospital at the end of the month, the hospital said.

DuBuske is no ordinary speaker. Out of thousands of US doctors hired by drug-maker GlaxoSmithKline to talk about its products, he was the highest paid during a three-month period last year, the company recently disclosed: He made $99,375 for giving 40 talks to other physicians last April, May, and June, almost one every other day.

DuBuske seems to be everywhere, with recent speaking stops spread from Boston to Buenos Aires, Poland, and Russia. Six other pharmaceutical companies also use him as a speaker, and he is a consultant for a half-dozen drug makers, according to information he disclosed while teaching continuing medical education courses. The disclosures did not mention how much he was paid for this work.

But DuBuske’s extensive speaking for drug companies is now in direct violation of a strict new conflict-of-interest policy for the Partners HealthCare hospital network, which includes the Brigham. So he is leaving after more than two decades at the hospital. As a result, Harvard will also terminate his appointment.

NU student dies on campus Thursday
By Jenna Duncan/Huntington News Staff – January 21, 2010

Aaron Zononi, a junior computer engineering major, died today on campus according to a university-wide e-mail sent by Senior Vice President of Enrollment and Student Life Philomena Mantella.

Vice President for Marketing and Communications Mike Armini, Director of Communications Renata Nyul, and officials from the Boston Police Department and Northeastern University Division of Public Safety did not return requests for comment.