Thulani Makhalanyane is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking at Stellenbosch University, where he holds the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) Chair in African Microbiome Innovation. His research focuses on understanding the ecology, evolution, and functional potential of microbial communities across diverse environments, with a particular emphasis on African microbiomes and their implications for human and ecosystem health.

He obtained his PhD from the University of the Western Cape in 2013. Since then, he has established an internationally recognised research programme integrating microbial ecology, genomics, and data science to explore microbiome diversity and function. He has co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications in leading international journals, including Nature, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and The ISME Journal.

Professor Makhalanyane serves on several editorial boards and plays an active role in shaping the global microbiology research agenda. He is currently Editor-in-Chief for Reviews and Perspectives at The ISME Journal and a Senior Editor at mSystems. He also contributes to national and international scientific advisory panels, representing South Africa in collaborative research and bilateral science initiatives.