Dr. Natalia Brito Rivera joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine in July, 2019.
Dr. Brito Rivera was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Biology with a concentration in Neurobiology and a Minor in Italian Studies at Cornell University in 2011. Dr. Brito Rivera went to medical school at Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine and pursued a Master in Population Health Science which she completed in 2015. She is interested in global health and during medical school was the president of the Global Health and Medicine group. Dr. Brito Rivera helped organize and participated in the group’s trip to Guatemala where they educated residents of communities with poor resources about hypertension, diabetes mellitus, good nutrition practices, and exercises through short lectures delivered at primary care clinics. She also had the opportunity to research the role of immunoglobins in the development of chronic pathology in filariasis at the National Institute of Research in Tuberculosis at Chennai, India and presented the results at the Forum on International Health and Medicine at Washington University. Dr. Brito Rivera has also participated in research on postpartum cardiomyopathy and preeclampsia and presented the results at the International Conference of Cardiac Problems in Pregnancy. She received the John R. Smith Memorial Fund Award for this research. She then went on to complete her Internal Medicine residency at Washington University – Barnes Jewish Hospital in 2019. Dr. Brito Rivera became interested in hospital medicine given the broad spectrum of medical conditions that they manage. She also enjoyed teaching interns and medical residents during residency and is interested in continuing to be involved in medical education. Her medical interests also include Oncology. Dr. Brito Rivera’s interests and hobbies outside of medicine include traveling, trying new foods and restaurants, drawing, and painting.