Agnes Wong

Agnes Wong, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician, chaplain, scientist, university professor, writer, artist, translator, and mom. She lives in Toronto, Canada, where she is a Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Psychology at the University of Toronto and a staff physician and senior scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children.

Agnes received lay ordination as a chaplain and Dharma Holder (empowerment to teach) in the Soto Zen lineage from Roshi Joan Halifax, Ph.D., Abbott of the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. Agnes is a lead faculty of the Mindfulness and Compassion Training for Health and End-of-Life Care Professionals program at the Sarana Institute in Toronto. As a surgeon and clinician, she also gives talks and runs workshops on physician well-being at many professional organizations, universities, and hospitals worldwide, with the goal of enhancing physicians' skills in mindfulness, compassion, and systems thinking.

Agnes' literary and artistic work includes haiku poetry, photography, and translation of ancient Chinese classics (Tao Te Ching). Her work speaks to love, loss, vulnerability, healing, femininity, and spirituality—important dimensions of human existence that are often unacknowledged in our modern busy lives.