Anna-Riitta and Fritz Fuchs were a formidable couple of scientists. Fritz (1921-1995) was born in Denmark, and met his Finnish wife Anna-Riitta (1926- 2014) in Helsinki as a young doctor. He later persuaded her to come to Copenhagen to continue her chemistry studies. In 1964, the family moved to the United States, when Fritz was invited to become the chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at New York Hospital – Cornell Medical College in New York. Anna-Riitta did research at Rockefeller University, and later joined her husband at NYH-CUMC, where she ran the Reproductive Endocrinology research lab.

Early in the new couple’s life, tragedy struck when their first child was born prematurely and did not survive. They then dedicated their lives to pursuing the mechanisms of premature labor, in addition to other work in the field of reproductive health. Their main field of research was the mechanism of action of oxytocin and prostaglandins in labor, and their findings have directly influenced clinical practice today. Many scientists from several countries worked in their lab and rose to become leaders in their field back home.

Anna-Riitta and Fritz had four more children, while Anna-Ritta simultaneously pursued and completed her PhD in Chemistry. Coming from Finland, where women got the right to vote already in 1906, she was also an early feminist, declaring at one point that “women’s liberation would not have happened without the pill”.The Fuchses also actively promoted women in science.

The Fuchs’ family, friends, colleagues and alumni are pleased to contribute to this fund in their memory, which will support Kota Alliance’s community partner organizations working for women’s reproductive health and the education of girls. We invite others who value the importance of this field, and women’s contribution to science, to contribute as well.