While Duntsch did secure local neurosurgeons as investors, Kukekov and Ignatova said that Duntsch tried to take more credit than he deserved for the technology that they developed.

Duntsch focused on raising money while Kukekov and Ignatova worked in the labs. Along with two Russian scientists, husband-and-wife Valery Kukekov and Tatyana Ignatova, he launched a company called DiscGenics in 2008 after Kukekov developed a method to obtain and grow disk stem cells. His name appeared on multiple research papers, patents, and biotech startups. After completing his medical training, he showed more interest in the Ph.D. However, there is no record of issues with Duntsch's procedures during his time training in Tennessee. The doctor who headed the university's neurosurgery department at the time of his residency would not respond to the American Greed TV show's multiple email requests for comment. They claimed that they had never observed any surgical issues with Duntsch.

The doctors in charge of Duntsch's residency program said that there were no failures in his residency training or his fellowship. Jude said that such a program didn't exist at the hospital when Duntsch claimed to have attended. Jude Children's Research Hospital and graduated summa cum laude. He claimed that he earned a doctorate in microbiology from the renowned St. Some things on his CV don't exactly add up. Duntsch also participated in a year-long spine fellowship at the Semmes Murphey Clinic. During his residency, he participated in less than 100 surgeries, a far cry from the average 1,000 operations that most neurosurgery residents take part in. He then embarked on his neurosurgical residency at the school. He was enrolled in a challenging program that had him on track to earn both an M.D.

He then attended the University of Tennessee at Memphis College of Medicine. Death fact-check reveals that the real Christopher Duntsch received his undergraduate degree in 1995 from Memphis State University. Christopher Duntsch graduate medical school?Ī Dr. It was then that he set his sights on becoming a doctor. He wanted to play football there but he was no longer eligible due to his multiple transfers. Homesick and unable to succeed on the field at Colorado State, Duntsch transferred to Memphis State University (subsequently renamed the University of Memphis). Christopher Duntsch as a young man and aspiring football player.

A Dragon for Christmas by M.D. Neu