The Independent Media group of newspapers recently held its annual The Young Independents 100 Inspiring and Aspiring Leaders Awards, where Dr Thulani Makhalanyane was awarded one of the prizes. These awards recognise young people who are leaders in their fields while supporting and inspiring communities throughout South Africa. Winners were chosen in five categories, namely Disruptors, Healers, Influencers, Innovators and Trailblazers. In 2017, over 2 000 young people were nominated. Dr Makhalanyane, a microbial ecologist, was awarded the third prize in the Healers category, which includes medical practitioners, academics, and environmental workers.
 
Dr Makhalanyane obtained his PhD from the University of the Western Cape in 2013 and is currently Deputy Director of the Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Genetics at the University of Pretoria. During his career, Dr Makhalanyane has received a number of national and international awards including the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) TW Kambule Award for Emerging Researchers in 2015, and the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) Ambassador's Award in 2016.  He has co-authored over 35 peer-reviewed papers in leading international journals and three book chapters. More information on the award is available here.

Click here for a link to Dr Makhalanyane's research articles in the UP repository (UPSpace).