Research Projects
Women's Negotiation between Parenthood, Reproductive Technologies, and Life Priorities: A Qualitative Study

• To examine how women negotiate decisions about whether and when to pursue parenthood in the context of competing personal, relational, and professional priorities.
• To understand how familial expectations—particularly filial responsibilities and intergenerational pressures—shape women’s reproductive decision‑making.
• To explore how cultural narratives about marriage, ageing, and “appropriate timing” influence women’s reproductive planning and perceptions of reproductive responsibility.
• To investigate women’s perceptions, expectations, and concerns regarding reproductive technologies, and how these shape their reproductive strategies and long‑term planning.
• To analyse how broader social norms and cultural values influence women’s attitudes toward the use of reproductive technologies in navigating reproductive timing and life priorities.
• To explore tensions between societal expectations of womanhood and individual priorities across work, relationships, and self-development.

Dr OMY Ngan, Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit

Dr. Olivia Ngan has multidisciplinary training in neuroscience, bioethics, and public health. Her research passion lies in reproductive health, public health genomics, rare diseases, and empirical bioethics. She is deeply interested in unraveling ethical dilemmas linked to the practical implementation of technologies in genomic medicine and healthcare services, focusing on reproductive technologies, prenatal screening and diagnosis, and newborn screening.

Biography
HKU Scholars Hub
ORCID
olivian1@hku.hk

For more information or to express interest for this project, please email the supervisor or the specified contact point in the project description.  Interested candidates are advised to enclose with your email:

1. your CV,
2. a brief description of your research interest and experience, and
3. two reference letters (not required for HKUMed UG students seeking MRes[Med]/URIS projects).

Information on the research programme, funding support and admission documentations could be referenced online at the Research Postgraduate Admissions website. General admission enquiries should be directed to rpgmed@hku.hk.

HKUMed MBBS students interested in the Master of Research in Medicine (MRes[Med]) programme may visit the programme website for more information.  

HKUMed UG students interested in the Undergraduate Research Internship Scheme (URIS) may visit the scheme’s website for more information.