Camille Ruvo Honored at Global Women's Health and WAM Forum

Camille Ruvo, chairwoman and co-founder of Keep Memory Alive, was recognized with the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement (WAM) Award for Leadership in Philanthropy and Alzheimer’s Prevention Research during the Cleveland Clinic Global Women’s Health + WAM Forum last week. Ruvo received the award for her significant contributions to the global development of Las Vegas as a center for Alzheimer's research specifically designed for women.

“We wanted to honor Camille for taking her own journey of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease and turning it into a powerful, motivating force to drive change in the lives and futures for thousands of other families in similar circumstances,” said Maria Shriver, founder of WAM and co-founder of Cleveland Clinic’s Comprehensive Women’s Health and Research Center. “Her vision of an innovative, holistic model of care is today being emulated by other institutions around the country.”

Camille and her husband, Larry Ruvo, witnessed the devastating effects Alzheimer's disease can have on families and committed themselves to improving the study, prevention and support of the disease. She is an active member of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and has played an active role in the research, clinical and caregiver services that the Lou Ruvo Center provides. She additionally helped kick off the Women's Alzheimer's Movement (WAM) Prevention and Research Center in Las Vegas to deal with the disproportionate risk for women and their expansion to serve women in Ohio.

Key Highlights:

• Camille Ruvo received the WAM Award at the Global Women’s Health + WAM Forum for Alzheimer’s leadership
• She was honoured for advancing women-focused Alzheimer’s research in Las Vegas
• The forum highlighted new WAM studies and expanded prevention programs on women’s brain health

Though much has been done to make meaningful strides in many areas of women's health, women's brain health has not been given the attention it deserves, said Camille Ruvo. We are dedicated to helping fill that gap by prevention, research, education, and support, ensuring women and families have access to the knowledge, resources, and care they need to help them navigate brain health with confidence and hope.

The recognition was celebrated during the first-ever true collaboration between the nationally traveling WAM Forum and the Cleveland Clinic Global Women's Health + WAM Forum on May 7, and featured a full day of inspiring education, delivered by top physicians, researchers, advocates and philanthropists working to improve all areas of women's health, from pregnancy to menopause, and heart, bone and brain health.

Lara Kalafatis, chair of Cleveland Clinic's Philanthropy Institute, was impressed by Camille's steadfast efforts to promote Alzheimer's prevention and research, not just in Las Vegas, but in the nation as a whole. “Her vision and leadership has ensured that so many families globally have access to care, research and support, and she has helped to bring an essential spotlight on the disease's impact on women.

Shriver took over from Beri Ridgeway, M.D., as co-host of the day, which featured a heavy research emphasis and women physicians and scientists who contributed to the clinic. In addition to honoring the winners of the WAM Awards, Shriver announced three studies that will receive 2026 WAM Research Grants, including groundbreaking research that is currently being conducted in Las Vegas to gain a deeper understanding of the risk of Alzheimer's in women.

Xiaowei Zhuang, Ph.D., a researcher based in Las Vegas at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, is the emerging scientist grant recipient and is focused on investigating the interaction between menopause-related hormonal changes and genetic risk factors in women to affect the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Her research interests include finding earlier and more individualized strategies to reduce cognitive decline risk in women who are at increased risk.

The forum also showcased the ongoing expansion of the WAM Prevention and Research Center in Las Vegas, a partnership between Cleveland Clinic and WAM. It is the first Alzheimer's prevention program in the nation just for women, and provides women with risk assessments, lifestyle changes, and customized health plans if they are at higher risk for Alzheimer's.

“This is such an important discussion,” said Sandra Darling, D.O., MPH, program director of the WAM Prevention and Research Center. “Women’s health needs to be at the forefront. We need to recognize these important issues that are not only impacting our quality of life right now but will affect our health down the road if we don’t take action.”

The center provides both in-person and virtual appointments in Las Vegas and Cleveland addressing the disproportionate effects of Alzheimer's disease on women.