Abstract: Pulsed power and plasmas are well known in fusion and defense applications. More recent investigations have focused on their suitability for inducing multiscale changes in biological specimens for applications ranging from drug delivery to wound treatment. The most common and mature example of this approach is electroporation, in which pulsed electric fields are applied to a tissue or cell suspension to charge the cell membranes to the point at which they open. Recent modifications have focused on shortening the pulse duration and increasing the field strength to additionally manipulate intracellular organelles to change cellular function. In this talk, I discuss research conducted by our cross-disciplinary team of biologists, plasma physicists, and computational physicists. First, I will review our modeling efforts to predict the effects of AC (sinusoidal) fields on membrane pore formation and assess potential implications on molecular delivery. I will next summarize results from a DARPA-funded study on plasma medicine, where we assessed the efficacy and mechanism of plasma interactions with microorganisms in vitro. Specifically, we observed deactivation of microorganisms on surfaces with a strong sensitivity to the interface around the treated cells, suggesting potential challenges for in vivo applications.