Spiribille worked with John McCutcheon at University of Alberta to apply molecular biology methods to the lichen symbiosis.
He was then able to take up a post as an associate professor in biological sciences at the University of Alberta in Canada in 2017.
[2] In 2016, he and colleagues identified the presence of basidiomycota yeasts within the structure of lichen species in North American through using a combination of microscopy and molecular genetic methods.
[3] This was a new, unexpected, discovery since lichens were considered to consist of one fungus and one (or two) photosynthetic algal or bacterial components.
This discovery has added to understanding of the lichen symbiosis, and the gradation between parasitism and mutualism.