Professor Thulani Makhalanyane

Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology
DSI/NRF SARChI Chair in Marine Microbiomics

Contact 

Tel: +27 (0)12 420 6976
Email: [email protected]

Biography

Thulani Makhalanyane graduated from the University of the Western Cape, where he completed his postgraduate training (MSc cum laude in 2009, and Ph.D. awarded in 2013). Post Ph.D., he moved to the University of Pretoria (UP) in 2013. During this period, his research has focused almost entirely on understanding the ecology of microbial communities in extreme environments. These habitats include soil microbial communities in the Antarctic Dry Valleys, the Namib Desert, the human gut microbiome, and is now increasingly focused on South African geographically strategic regions such as the Southern Ocean. He has recently been awarded a DSI/NRF SARChI in Marine Microbiomics.

After a period as a postdoctoral fellow, he was appointed Lecturer in 2014 (promoted to Associate Professor in 2019 and Full Professor from January 2023) and continues to undertake research at UP. He has previously taught undergraduate modules in Microbiology and Genetics and supervises 18 postgraduate students (at M and D levels). Thulani has over 60 publications, and over 2500 citations (H index 25). He has coauthored papers in leading multidisciplinary journals (Nature, Science, Science Advances etc.) and has presented keynotes at several international meetings including the International Symposium on Microbial Ecology. He serves on the leading editorial boards within his discipline and is currently Senior Editor of the ISME Journal (IF >10) and mSystems (IF >7), and editor at Nature’s new multidisciplinary journal Communications Biology (IF >6). In 2018, Thulani was elected to the International Board of ISME and was appointed Director of the ISME Ambassador Program which promotes outreach in over 100 countries. Since 2019, Thulani has served as member of the NRF Basic and Applied Microbiology Ratings Specialist Committee and was appointed Convener in 2022. He also serves on several national and international panels representing South Africa in bilateral discussions. 

Thulani Makhalanyane has received a number of national and international awards. In August 2016, Thulani received the ISME Ambassador of the Year Award. He is a previous Fulbright Scholar, has been awarded the prestigious TW-Kambule-NSTF Award (Emerging Researcher) in 2015, the UP Exceptional Achievers Award (in 2019, 2020 – 2024), and the National Research Foundation Prestigious Award (P-Rating) in 2019.