Ambika Ashraf, M.D.UAB Department of Pediatrics Professor Ambika Ashraf, M.D., has co-edited “Pediatric Diabetes,” a comprehensive textbook highlighting the latest research findings and clinical guidance for managing diabetes in children and adolescents.
Ashraf holds the Ralph Frohsin Endowed Chair in Pediatric Endocrinology and serves as director of the UAB Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, as well as associate director of the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center.
Written by international experts from leading diabetes care centers, “Pediatric Diabetes” covers major forms of the disease, including Type 1 diabetes (T1D), Type 2 diabetes (T2D), Wolfram syndrome and cystic fibrosis-related diabetes. It also provides up-to-date management strategies for evolving diabetes phenotypes and current clinical approaches to care.
Ashraf said the book addresses a critical gap in clinical resources focused specifically on pediatric diabetes — one of the most common chronic diseases among individuals under age 20 in the United States. In 2022, an estimated 21,732 youth under 18 were newly diagnosed with T1D, and 14,490 diagnosed with T2D. Between 2001 and 2017, the prevalence of T1D in U.S. youth increased by 45%, with the largest increases among non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black youth. Over the same period, T2D prevalence increased by 95%, with the largest increases among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic youth. Based on increasing rates, the number of youth with T1D is projected to reach 335,000 and youth with T2D to reach 220,000 by 2060 — increases of 65% and 673%, respectively.
Ashraf co-edited the 15-chapter volume with Benjamin Udoka Nwosu, M.D., professor of Pediatrics and Endocrinology at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in New York.
She also co-authored two of the book’s chapters including the Neonatal Diabetes chapter with Mary Margaret Barr, M.D., a fellow in the Joseph S. Bruno Pediatric Endocrinology Training Program at UAB, who will be joining the division as a faculty member in July 2026, and the Precision Medicine in Diabetes Phenotypes chapter.
“Most available information on pediatric and adolescent diabetes has historically been limited to chapters within larger pediatric endocrinology books, without the space to cover specific topics in depth,” Ashraf said. “That's what makes this book valuable. It fills a genuine gap in the literature.”
“Pediatrics Diabetes” is published by Springer as part of the Contemporary Endocrinology series and is available in print (ISBN: 978-3-032-17035-4) and eBook (ISBN: 978-3-032-17036-1) formats at Springer.com and Amazon.
Ashraf is also co-editor of “Pediatric Dyslipidemia,” published by Springer in 2023.