Axtell, RobertMetgher, Cristina2016-09-282016-09-282016https://hdl.handle.net/1920/10441Cancer is a complex system of systems - in which heterogeneous actors interact dynamically with each other and with the environment across time. It is the second leading cause of death in the U. S. after cardiovascular disease, striking people from all occupations and backgrounds. The U. S. President Nixon declared the “War on Cancer” in 1971. Since then, much progress has been made towards understanding this disease. However, due to the reductionist thinking that has been predominant in cancer research for the last decades, the mortality rates due to cancer have hardly changed.400 pagesenCopyright 2016 Cristina MetgherSystems scienceComputational social scienceSocial determinants of cancerSocial epidemiologyDissertation