M. Rita Lepe, M.D.

Biography

Maria Rita Lepe-Suastegui, M.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She specializes in liver transplantation; autoimmune liver disease; liver disease in young adults; fatty liver disease; and health care disparities in liver disease among minority populations, particularly Latino patients.

Dr. Lepe-Suastegui earned her medical degree at Autonomous University of Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Finch University of Health Sciences in North Chicago, Illinois, and a fellowship in digestive and liver diseases at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in transplant hepatology, gastroenterology, and internal medicine, she joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2022.

Dr. Lepe-Suastegui serves on the American Liver Foundation's Medical Advisory Committee. She’s a member of numerous professional associations, including the National Hispanic Medical Association, the Texas Medical Association, and the North Texas Latin American Physicians Association.

She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles related to her areas of expertise and is fluent in Spanish.