Thulani Makhalanyane graduated from the University of the Western Cape, where he completed his postgraduate training (MSc cum laude in 2009 and PhD awarded in 2013). Post PhD, he moved to the University of Pretoria (UP) and joined Professor Cowan, helping to establish the Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics (CMEG) 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, and now increasingly focused on South African geographically strategic regions such as the Southern Ocean.

After a period as a postdoctoral fellow, he was appointed Lecturer in 2014 (promoted to Associate Professor in 2019) and continues to undertake research at the CMEG. He teaches undergraduate modules in microbiology and genetics and supervises 10 postgraduate students at master’s and doctorate levels. Thulani has had over 50 publications since 2012 (H-index 21). His work was presented at several international meetings, including the International Symposium on Microbial Ecology, SCAR Biology Meetings, and the Polar and Alpine Microbiology meetings. He is currently an associate editor (Front in Microbiol Extreme Microbiology section) and editor at mSystems and Communications Biology. Thulani reviews regularly for several leading journals within the field (e.g., Nature, ISME J, and Giga Science). He also serves on national and international panels representing South Africa in bilateral discussions. In addition, Thulani was elected to the board of the ISME Society.