During her medical school years, Professor of Medicine Beverly H. Lorell never thought she would end up as an officer in a large, publicly traded corporation—she was too busy trying to squeeze in some sleep between long hours of residency and study.

But last Thursday Lorell, who currently directs the heart failure program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, was appointed vice-president and chief medical and technology officer of Guidant Corporation, a maker of defibrillators and pacemakers. The appointment is effective Nov. 1.

Lorell said she made the decision to accept this new role in late August, after the Guidant leadership asked her to look at the position and learn about their company.

She will be responsible for providing advice and oversight regarding new initiatives as well as current devices and products.

Lorell says she doesn’t feel like she is moving into the business sector.

“[This position] will allow me to bring to the table my clinical experience in heart failure and coronary vascular disease in a new way,” she said.

Professor of Medicine Kenneth L. Baughman, a longtime colleague of Lorell’s, said that the decision was a wise one.

“It is important for someone at her stage of development to look for opportunities where she can leave her mark,” he said.

Guidant stated in a press release that Lorell will be a strong advocate for the company’s public policy initiatives.

Though Guidant would not disclose any specific issues that the company will be advocating in Washington, Lorell said that one of her first jobs will be to become familiar with the policy questions surrounding health care and drugs.

Lorell said she was chosen for the executive position because of her clinical experience and leadership in heart failure therapy.

“I’ve had the good fortune to have participated in leadership roles in several national test groups that have dealt with health care policy and how it should be implemented to cardiology patients,” she said.

Lorell’s university teaching duties this year involve instructing intern residents and cardiovascular fellows at Beth Israel.

She has also taught heart physiology at Harvard Medical School and helped with the development of a new Medical School curriculum.

There is an active search to recruit a new doctor to replace Lorell as director of the heart failure program at Beth Israel Deaconess, she said.

Though Lorell will not have any official university duties after Nov. 1, she said she will continue research at her basic science lab.

Guidant Corporation will be gaining a very valuable resource in Lorell, according to Baughman.

“It is a loss for Harvard but at the same time, that is what places like Harvard do—they train people to lead in industry, government, academia,” he said. “She’s fulfilling the mission.”

Guidant has major operations in the U.S., Europe and Japan, but markets its products in almost 100 countries.

Its 2002 Annual Report declared $3.2 billion dollars in sales and a net income of $612 million.