Ivania Rizo, MD
Assistant Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Medicine
Endocrinology, Diabetes, Nutrition & Weight Management

MD, Georgetown University
BS, University of Maryland



Ivania Rizo, MD, is dedicated to advancing excellence in diabetes, obesity, and health equity. She serves as Director of Obesity Medicine, Co-Medical Director, and Assistant Professor in the Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Nutrition & Weight Management at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Rizo is the Diabetes Clinical Co-Lead for Boston Medical Center’s (BMC) Health Equity Accelerator and the Endocrine Lead for Heart of Communities, a multisector partnership between BMC, Mass General Brigham, and Mattapan Community Health Center.

Dr. Rizo earned her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine, completed her Internal Medicine residency at Georgetown University, and completed her Endocrinology fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She subsequently joined the UAB faculty as an Assistant Professor and Staff Physician at the Kirkland Clinic before being recruited to her current role at BMC. She is triple board-certified in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, and Obesity Medicine.

Her clinical and academic interests include obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular–kidney–metabolic disease. As Diabetes Clinical Co-Lead for BMC’s Health Equity Accelerator, Dr. Rizo develops programs aimed at expanding equitable access to high-quality diabetes and obesity care—advancing BMC’s mission of providing exceptional care without exception.

Dr. Rizo is an active member of the Endocrine Society, the American Diabetes Association, and The Obesity Society.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

As a Spanish speaking first generation immigrant from Nicaragua, Dr. Rizo is committed to including racial justice and advancing health equity in medical care, specifically in diabetes and obesity. Diabetes and obesity impacts racially and ethnically diverse communities at higher rates. It is Dr. Rizo’s goal to decrease the racial disparities in the community we serve at BMC. She works as a Diabetes Clinical Co-Lead in BMC's Health Equity Accelerator to create programs to increase equity in the care of patients with diabetes. Dr. Rizo is doing research looking at social determinants of health ( SDOH) and its impact on weight regain in post bariatric surgery patients at BMC. By including SDOH in her work, she hopes to decrease the barriers to care and ultimately improve the care we provide to our diverse community.

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

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  1. Campos A, Fantasia KL, Rizo I. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices in obesity among trained and in-training primary care providers in an urban safety-net hospital system. Obes Pillars. 2025 Sep; 15:100185.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40546447; PMCID: PMC12182768; DOI: 10.1016/j.obpill.2025.100185;
     
  2. Mohanty A, Austad K, Bosch NA, Long MT, Nolen-Doerr E, Walkey AJ, Drainoni ML, Rizo I, Fantasia KL. Assessing Clinician Engagement With a Passive Clinical Decision Support System for Liver Fibrosis Risk Stratification in a Weight Management Clinic. Endocr Pract. 2025 Jul; 31(7):899-905.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40288606
     
  3. Ryan TJ, Heyman AS, Mulvey EN, McLaughlin A, Rizo IM, Assoumou SA. Factors associated with inpatient complications among patients with obesity and COVID-19 at an urban safety-net hospital: A retrospective cohort study. Obes Sci Pract. 2022 Aug 15; 8(6):794-800.View Related Profiles. PMID: 35938065; PMCID: PMC9347368; DOI: 10.1002/osp4.623;
     
  4. Fantasia KL, Wirunsawanya K, Lee C, Rizo I. Racial Disparities in Diabetes Technology Use and Outcomes in Type 1 Diabetes in a Safety-Net Hospital. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2021 09; 15(5):1010-1017.View Related Profiles. PMID: 33719610; PMCID: PMC8442173; DOI: 10.1177/1932296821995810;
     
  5. Nolen-Doerr E, Stockman MC, Rizo I. Mechanism of Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Improvements in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Obesity. Curr Obes Rep. 2019 Sep; 8(3):284-291.View Related Profiles. PMID: 31124035
     
  6. Dupepe E, Patel D, Miller J, Rizo I, Vaughan TB, Riley K. Postoperative day 1 versus postoperative day 5 morning cortisol for predicting an intact hypothalamic-pituitary axis: A cohort analysis. Surg Neurol Int. 2019; 10:91. PMID: 31528429; PMCID: PMC6744762; DOI: 10.25259/SNI-105-2019;
     
  7. Rizo IM, Apovian CM. Diabetic Ketoacidosis Post Bariatric Surgery. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2018; 9:812.View Related Profiles. PMID: 30697192; PMCID: PMC6340926; DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2018.00812;
     
  8. Rodriguez-Diaz E, Rizo I, Sullivan C, Steenkamp DW. Perioperative Use of a Hybrid Closed Loop System in an Obese Patient With Type 1 Diabetes Undergoing Metabolic Surgery: Insights Into Changes in Insulin Delivery and Sensitivity. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2018 11; 12(6):1239-1240.View Related Profiles. PMID: 29957042; PMCID: PMC6232739; DOI: 10.1177/1932296818784068;
     
  9. Hotez PJ, Ashcom J, Bin Z, Bethony J, Williamson A, Hawdon JM, Jianjun F, Dobardzic A, Rizo I, Bolden J, Jin Q, Yan W, Dobardzic R, Chung-Debose S, Crowell M, Datu B, Delaney A, Dragonovski D, Jiang Y, Yueyuan L, Ghosh K, Loukas A, Brandt W, Russell PK, Zook BC. Effect of vaccinations with recombinant fusion proteins on Ancylostoma caninum habitat selection in the canine intestine. J Parasitol. 2002 Aug; 88(4):684-90. PMID: 12197114
     
  10. Mantey SA, Coy DH, Pradhan TK, Igarashi H, Rizo IM, Shen L, Hou W, Hocart SJ, Jensen RT. Rational design of a peptide agonist that interacts selectively with the orphan receptor, bombesin receptor subtype 3. J Biol Chem. 2001 Mar 23; 276(12):9219-29. PMID: 11112777
     

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 10 publications over 7 distinct years, with a maximum of 3 publications in 2019

YearPublications
20001
20021
20181
20193
20211
20221
20252


Sleep Apnea Knowledge Gaps

MedPage Today 10/3/2025

Will Compounding 'Best Practices' Guide Reassure Clinicians?

MDedge 8/22/2024

Will Compounding 'Best Practices' Guide Reassure Clinicians?

Medscape 8/21/2024

These Drugs Are Changing the Fight against Obesity

BU Today 1/19/2024

Tirzepatide Provides 'Meaningful' Weight Loss in SURMOUNT-3

Medscape 10/16/2023

A long wait for freedom

World 10/5/2023

Water Fasting: Is It Safe? Is It for You?

Health Day 7/21/2023

Can Berberine Live Up to the Claim That It's 'Nature's Ozempic'?

Medscape 7/12/2023

Can Berberine Live Up to the Claim That It's 'Nature's Ozempic'?

Medscape 7/12/2023

Obesity Drug Shortage Triggers Frustrations, Workarounds

Medscape 8/8/2022

Could Diabetes Drug Be a Game Changer in Treating Obesity?

BU Today 6/3/2021

Weight Loss Recommended to Decrease CV Risk in Metabolically Healthy Obesity

Healio 11/11/2019
In addition to these self-described keywords below, a list of MeSH based concepts is available here.

Diabetes Management
Weight Management
Thyroid Disorders
General Endocrinology
Medical Management of Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery
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