Gastroenterology
Belen A. Tesfaye, MD
Bethesda Endo Center
Dr. Belen A. Tesfaye is a board-certified gastroenterologist and hepatologist who sees patients at the Bethesda Endo Center in Rockville, MD, with a second office on Seven Locks Road. She cares for patients in both English and Amharic, making her a natural fit for the area’s Ethiopian community and anyone who wants to discuss digestive and liver health in their own language.
Background and training
Dr. Tesfaye earned her medical degree from Jimma University in Ethiopia, graduating with top honors, and completed an internal medicine internship at Black Lion (Tikur Anbessa) University Hospital in Addis Ababa. She moved to Washington, DC, for her internal medicine residency at Howard University Hospital, then stayed on for her clinical fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology — during which she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.
Her fellowship included focused training in general and transplant hepatology at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, and she was selected as a visiting fellow in neurogastroenterology and motility at Temple University Hospital, adding expertise in motility disorders to her liver and general GI training.
Why patients choose Dr. Tesfaye
She is board certified in both gastroenterology and internal medicine, and her training spans the full range of digestive care — from routine colon cancer screening and endoscopy to complex liver disease and motility conditions. She is a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology and a member of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society, where she has also contributed at the committee level.
Practice focus
Colon cancer screening and colonoscopy, general digestive complaints, liver and hepatology care including transplant hepatology, gastrointestinal motility and neurogastroenterology, and diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy.
Languages and access
Dr. Tesfaye speaks English and Amharic, accepts new patients, and offers virtual visits in addition to in-person appointments in Rockville and North Bethesda. Outside of medicine she enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time with her family.
Profile last fact-checked June 30, 2026. Information reflects publicly available sources and may change. Confirm details directly with the practice before booking.
How Dr. Tesfaye compares
Context from the 139 providers we track across Bethesda and Montgomery County.
The only one we list in Rockville
The only gastroenterology provider in our registry serving Rockville.
The only provider we list offering hepatology
1 of the 130 providers who list their focus areas name hepatology.
1 of 8 Amharic-speaking doctors
8 of the 139 providers in our registry (6%) practise in Amharic, across 5 specialties.
Trained in Ethiopia
7 of the 107 doctors whose medical school we record trained in Ethiopia. 24 trained outside the United States altogether.
Trained in the DC–Baltimore area
Completed residency locally, like 32% of the 87 doctors whose residency we record.
Medical school: Jimma University — Jimma, Oromia, Ethiopia.
Figures describe the 139 providers currently in the MyBethesdaDoctor registry as of August 2026 — a curated directory, not a census of every doctor in Montgomery County. How we build this list.
Where Dr. Tesfaye sits by experience
Dr. Tesfaye finished medical school in 2004, 22 years ago. Of the 135 providers in our registry whose graduation year we could verify, 87 finished earlier, 42 finished later, and 5 finished the same year.
1965–69
1 provider finished 1965–19691970–74
2 providers finished 1970–19741975–79
4 providers finished 1975–19791980–84
13 providers finished 1980–19841985–89
12 providers finished 1985–19891990–94
14 providers finished 1990–19941995–99
27 providers finished 1995–1999Dr. Tesfaye2004
2000–04
20 providers finished 2000–20042005–09
19 providers finished 2005–20092010–14
17 providers finished 2010–20142015–19
4 providers finished 2015–20192020–24
2 providers finished 2020–2024Among the 110 physicians we list, 77 finished medical school earlier — the median for that group is 1998.
All 12 bands
| Graduated | Providers |
|---|---|
| 1965–1969 | 1 |
| 1970–1974 | 2 |
| 1975–1979 | 4 |
| 1980–1984 | 13 |
| 1985–1989 | 12 |
| 1990–1994 | 14 |
| 1995–1999 | 27 |
| 2000–2004 — Dr. Tesfaye | 20 |
| 2005–2009 | 19 |
| 2010–2014 | 17 |
| 2015–2019 | 4 |
| 2020–2024 | 2 |
Figures describe the 139 providers currently in the MyBethesdaDoctor registry as of August 2026 — a curated directory, not a census of every doctor in Montgomery County. Based on the 135 of 139 profiles with a graduation year we could verify against a primary source; the remaining 4 are left out rather than estimated. How we build this list.
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