Dennis Saikkonen holds a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Zurich since November 30th, 2023. Throughout his master’s program, he worked as a student assistant at the Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development at NMR Kids Lab lead by Prof. Dr. Nora Maria Raschle. His master's thesis explored the Functional Brain Connectivity in Mothers, Children and Similarity in Mother-Child Dyads During Mentalizing. Before starting his academic career, Dennis was a professional ice hockey goalkeeper for 12 years.

Currently, Dennis Saikkonen is pursuing a PhD degree at the Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development at the University of Zurich. Dennis research plan investigates Neural networks of perspective taking in the developing human brain: associations to socioemotional skill acquisition and disruption.