E. Bayer obtained her PhD in 2005 (A. Maule, John Innes Centre, UK), working on plant-specific plasmodesmata as intercellular channels. After a postdoctoral position in Switzerland on auxin-polarised transport (2006–2009; C. Kuhlemeier, Institute of Plant Sciences), she obtained a permanent position at CNRS in 2010. Since 2015, she has led her own group at the Laboratory of Membrane Biogenesis in Bordeaux, France, and is currently Deputy Director of the Bordeaux Imaging Center. Her research focuses on how plant cells communicate through plasmodesmata intercellular bridges.