Kobylinski Kevin

Dr Kevin Kobylinski is an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow with the University of Oxford, based in the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at MORU in Bangkok. He has worked within the MORU Tropical Health Network since 2017 on different projects related to ivermectin. Kevin is an entomologist, primarily interested in developing novel vector control measures to reduce malaria transmission whose research focuses on the use of ivermectin in humans and livestock to control Anopheles mosquitoes to limit the spread of malaria.

Kevin has evaluated the mosquito-lethal effects of ivermectin in combination with antimalarial drugs, ivermectin metabolites, and novel long-lasting formulations in humans and livestock. He has been invited to present on ivermectin for malaria control for various WHO entities and to the APMEN Vector Control Working Group. Kevin co-founded the Ivermectin for Malaria Elimination Network (IVERMEN). In addition, he leads efforts to evaluate the safety of ivermectin in children weighing less than 15 kilograms and a novel paediatric formulation of ivermectin designed specifically for small children. His ongoing projects include collaborators from Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Kenya, The Gambia, Brazil, US, Switzerland, and France. Kevin’s overall research goal is to improve the health and well-being of people in regions afflicted with malaria and neglected tropical diseases.

Previous holder of a US National Research Council Fellowship, Kevin received his PhD in Microbiology from Colorado State University and an MSc in Entomology from the University of Florida.

Since starting at MORU, Kevin has: Evaluated the safety, pharmacokinetics, and mosquito-lethal effect of ivermectin in combination with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine and primaquine which demonstrated drug-drug interactions between ivermectin and piperaquine which increased ivermectin bioavailability and mosquito-lethal effect; Demonstrated the mosquito-lethal potential of ivermectin metabolites to kill Anopheles mosquitoes; and Conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the safety of ivermectin in children weighing less than 15 kg.     

Kevin is currently working on these projects and studies:  

Sumba Livestock Ivermectin for Malaria Control (SLIM) project, which evaluates the efficacy of standard and long-lasting ivermectin against wild Anopheles mosquitoes in Indonesia. Partners include the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), Sumba Foundation, University of Gadjah Mada. 

Ivermectin active metabolites identification to evaluate the mosquito-lethal efficacy of ivermectin metabolites against key malaria vectors in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). Partners include the US Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS) and Mahidol University in Thailand. 

Ivermectin Safety in Small Children (ISSC) trial, a multi-country trial to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of ivermectin in scabies-infected children weighing less than 15 kgs. Partners include the Chittagong Medical College, Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr Heitor Vieira Dourado, Fundação de Dermatologia Tropical e Venereologia Alfredo da Matta, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), and the MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Evaluating Pediatric Ivermectin in Children Weighing Less than 15 kilograms (EPIC-15), a single-centre trial to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, acceptability, and efficacy of a novel ivermectin oro-dispersible mini tablet in scabies-infected children weighing less than 15 kilograms. Partners include the University of Basel, Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr Heitor Vieira Dourado, Fundação de Dermatologia Tropical e Venereologia Alfredo da Matta and ClinSearch. 

Evaluating a novel long-lasting human and veterinary ivermectin formulations, laboratory and clinical studies that will evaluate the pharmacokinetics and mosquito-lethal effect of ivermectin when administered as novel formulations. Partners include Mahidol University and public companies.  [JT1]

Ivermectin Efficacy Against Liver Stage Malaria, a laboratory study that will evaluate the potential efficacy and mode of action of ivermectin to prevent liver stage infection of Plasmodium falciparum. Partners include the University of South Florida. 

Ivermectin Mass Drug Administration for Malaria Control in Southern Thailand, a field trial to evaluate the impact of ivermectin mass drug administration on mosquito and human parameters of malaria transmission in Surat Thani, Thailand. Partners include Mahidol University, the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, and the Thai Ministry of Public Health.