Barnett (Barney) Rosenberg was one of the leaders in the area of cancer research. His research into the nature of cancer and his breakthrough development of the platinum based anti-cancer drugs cisplatin and carboplatin (with Lab Supervisor Loretta Van Camp) is the foundation for the modern treatment of cancer.

Rosenberg was born and educated in New York City, earning his Ph.D. at New York University in 1955. He came to Michigan State University in 1961 and was a founding member of its Biophysics Department. While Rosenberg is most known for his research into developing platinum compounds to combat cancer, he had a wide array of contributing interests in biology, medicine, biochemistry, microwave studies, electromagnetism, and aging. Rosenberg and his research colleagues published hundreds of research papers and hold multiple patents in these areas.

In 1982, Rosenberg founded the Barros Research Institute (BRI), a private research facility in Holt, Michigan dedicated to researching his other areas of interest, not related to platinum compounds, and discovering new treatments for catastrophic diseases in humans. A primary research topic was an anti-tumor agent found the small intestine.

Rosenberg retired from Michigan State University in 1997 and in 2001, the Barnett Rosenberg Chair in Neuroscience was established. Rosenberg died August 8, 2009.